entrepreneurship

Life After, Part 2 – Big News!

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A lot has happened since my last blog post, which was just over a year ago.  We closed the doors to Launch Longmont on February 29th this year.  The coworking space was a success in that we brought in some great members and had a positive impact on the community, but construction that was supposed to be started and done in three or four months never got past the demolition point.  Because of the delay we decided to shut it down.
 
And now for Part 2 . . .
 
JSbuilding
(Jeffrey Smart Building, University of South Australia – photo courtesy UniSA)
 
So you know how everyone tells you “when one door closes, another one opens?”  I am living proof.  Last week I received an offer to spend a year as the Growth Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of South Australia, in Adelaide.  UniSA is in the top 3% of QS World University Rankings, and the UniSA Business School ranks in the top 1% globally.  Wow!  There are over 36,000 students and yet the University was just founded 25 years ago.
 
Australia Map
 
After a quick trip over to observe and look for a place to live, Cindy and I will be moving there sometime at the end of May, and I’ll be starting in my new position June 1st.
 
I will miss Longmont, and I will have to resign as President of Startup Longmont.  I’m very proud of all the people who have made this organization what it is.  When I arrived in town about a year and a half ago, the Startup Longmont Meetup had just over 30 members.  Yesterday we added our 800th member, and earlier in the month we became a real 501(c)(3) non-profit.  It has been my pleasure to work with all the people of Longmont, and though I will be half a world away soon, I will always be a Startup Longmont member!
 
TGS Banner
 
I also won’t be the “Resident Entrepreneur” at the Temple Grandin School for at least the next year, but perhaps my new title can be Entrepreneur At Large or some such thing, as I do plan to stay involved.  The great staff and students have been a highlight of my past year and I am proud to remain a supporter of their work.  Although I will be 17 1/2 time zones away, I plan to occasionally occasionally call into Entrepreneur Thursday Morning Meeting.  If you are in Boulder on April 4th, check out the Meeting of The Minds, it's going to be a great event, or let me know if you would like an introduction to the great people at the Temple Grandin School.
 
My plan is to spend as much time with friends and family over the next two months while getting rid of stuff and then packing up what's left for storage.  We’re going over with two suit cases each and a big smile on our faces!  (And my mandolin of course – I'm sure I can find a bluegrass jam in Adelaide!)
 
Update March 23, 2016
 
So far I think everyone I've told about this has either said they would visit me in Australia, or they asked me to take them with me when I go.  I'm not surprised, everyone I know is fascinated by Australia and would love to visit.  The long plane ride scares most off, but it's really not that bad.  (Ask me again after I've done it twice more)
 
Some people don't grasp the size of Australia, so I found this graphic to help from the Australian Government's Geoscience webpage.
 
Australiasize
 
It is both the "smallest continental land mass, (and) it is the world's largest island."
 
This very cool map created by someone (wish I could find their name!) at The Guardian shows the population distribution of the country.  It looks like there are a lot of people on the coasts until you look at the map key.  Most of the people do live on the coasts, but even so it is not a crowded place unless you are in one of the city centers.  Check out the article and other maps here at The Guardian.
 
AustraliaPopulationMapTheGuardian
 
 Since so many of you have said you'd like to follow me down to Australia, here is a website I've found that has been helpful as I start to get my bearings.
 
 BobInOz
And here is one of Bob in Oz's maps of the Australian States, and a link to information about each one to help you decide where you want to live!
 
States-map
 
 
 

Nine Unusual High-Performance Traits

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My good friend, mentor and coach, Dr. TC North has been writing columns for ColoradoBiz magazine for the past year. His columns consistently place in the top-five most popular columns and his latest one is the best yet.  TC writes about nine traits that he sees in high performance athletes and business leaders. 

  1. Willingness to fail
  2. Motivation driven by excitement not by fear
  3. Obsessive focus
  4. Respect
  5. Alignment
  6. Positive accountability
  7. Shared values
  8. No whining, complaining or excuses
  9. Meet or exceed

Check out the article to see his take on these nine traits.  You can also subscribe to TC's newsletter where you'll get his weekly EnCourageMent email.  TC coaches elite athletes, top sales people and CEOs. He's been a great help to me and I recommend him highly.

Running a Marathon is NOT like running a business

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Terry Gold Marathon

Many years ago I got the idea that running a business was like running a marathon. Or better yet a series of marathons, with the occasional sprints as needed.  Well, last Sunday I ran my first marathon and I have to say it was EASY compared to running a business.

There are some similarities, and some really big differences and I've learned something about myself, which was the point of running the marathon in the first place.

Here are some of the similarities of running a marathon and running a business.

Both require a certain amount of preparation and planning before starting.  If you don't plan, you have a very high chance of failing to finish, and you'll likely be miserable from the very start.  There are a lot of people who have ran marathons in Boulder, and I talked to quite a few during my training so I didn't have any big surprises while running.  Thanks Herb, Brad, Jim, David and everyone else who encouraged me to do this.

When Jim and I started Gold Systems twenty years ago, I only knew a couple of entrepreneurs, so we made a lot of rookie mistakes that we could have avoided if I had known more entrepreneurs at the beginning.  If you are thinking about running a marathon or starting a business, find others who have done it who are willing to give you the important tips that you won't find or notice in the books. 

It helps to know what to expect.  It was easier to learn about what I was in for with the marathon than it was for the business.  Having people give you advice is great, but it also really helps to hear what it is going to feel like once you are in the race or working in the business.  For instance, I was not prepared to think about my business every waking moment, which I did for many years.  I had no idea it was going to be so consuming.  Had someone told me that it was normal early on, I think it would have been easier.  I've learned to give my brain a break, but the business is still there ready to jump to the forefront of my thoughts anytime day or night, but now I know it is normal. 

Have fun.  One of the best pieces of advice about the marathon was to "enjoy the run."  Whenever I started to feel bad, I reminded myself that this was supposed to be fun, and somehow that helped push the pain away.  Come to think of it, I'm finding that works in business too. In business some entrepreneurs seem to brag about how miserable they are, and how much they sacrifice for the business.   I've been that guy, but If you find you're having a lot more bad times than good times, it means something is probably wrong and an adjustment needs to be made.  I'm a much better leader when I'm having fun, and I'm a much better runner when I'm having fun. 
Pain is temporary.  Until last Sunday, I had never ran more than 20 miles, but I was confident that whatever pain and soreness I would have right after the race would be gone in a few days, and it was.  I've had more painful days while being an entrepreneur than I experienced with the marathon, but I still sometimes forget that the next day, the next week, the next month, it will be better.  I like to say that lessons will be repeated until learned, but hopefully the next time I have a painful day I can remember that I just need to get through it and then things will be better. 
Now for a couple of big differences between running a marathon and running a business.
Focus.  Phylis pointed out to me that to run a marathon, you pretty much just focus on finishing, but in business it can be very, very hard to focus.  In business I've come to terms with the idea that there are more things to do than there are hours in the day.  It's my job to figure out which things I should get done and which should get passed on to others, or simply left undone.  There are always more good ideas and opportunities to consider than time and resources allow, so I think it is much harder to focus in business than it is to just keep putting one foot in front of the other until the marathon finish line is crossed. 
The Finish Line.  Cindy pointed out that in business there is no finish line, or if there is, you don't usually know where it is.  That's an amusing thought to me.  Consider a race where everyone lines up not knowing how long the course is, or whether it will be hot or cold, hilly or flat.  Then somewhere along the way, someone yells, "finish line in 1 mile!" and everyone starts sprinting.  Then the runners hear, "just kidding, keep running."  In business I've seen entrepreneurs quit because they got tired of the race, or they thought that they somehow had entered the wrong race. 

So there you have it.  Running a business is a little like running a marathon, but running a business is in my opinion a lot harder and I think even more rewarding.  Stay focused, keep putting one foot in front of the other, be prepared to change when the race changes, and above all, enjoy the race as much as you can.  

 

Update 10-21-2011.  The marathon is done, I'm completely recovered and ready to go again.  I'm getting up early and jumping on the treadmill and I'm looking forward to the weekend for a long run outside.  Thanks to everyone for the comments!  Greg put a link to another post into his comment about running and entrepreneurship, and it is really worth checking out.  Here it is:  http://blog.finette.com/post/11370209405/never-walk-a-talk-about-entrepreneurship-and-running

 

Update 10-28-2011.  Soon after I posted this, I received a very nice email from Miguel Chang who lives in Taiwan and has a website called Sportsnote.com.  Miguel asked if he could translate my blog post into Chinese, and of course I was happy to have him do it.  Here is a link to this post at Sportsnote.com   Thank you Miguel!    

 

Sportsnote page

19 Years and counting, and 13 lessons learned

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Nineteen years ago yesterday, June 21, 1991, I received notice from the State of Colorado that Gold Systems was officially incorporated as a business.  I believe I also gave two weeks notice to AT&T on that day and officially started my entrepreneurship journey.

I've learned so many lessons along the way.  Some lessons are still being repeated, but years ago I wrote down some of the ones that had really stuck with me.  To commemorate the day I'm going to repeat a blog post that I did back in 2004.  Here's the original link, which amazingly still works.  I called it Thirteen Lessons Learned in 2004, but the list goes back to the very early days of Gold Systems.  At that time there were only twelve lessons, but the most important lesson was only added after we survived the dot.com crash.

Thank you sincerely to EVERYONE who's been a part of Gold Systems.  For everyone who's ever worked here, or been a customer or a partner or an investor – thank you!

Thirteen Lessons Learned

1. Get all of the business we can . . .

Too many times we thought we were going to get a big contract and slacked off on our sales efforts. Then we had to scramble when the contract didn't come through.

2. Don't assume anyone else is working in our best interest.

People have their own problems and sometimes wishful thinking made us believe that people were going to do more to help us than was realistic.

3. Always confirm sending a fax and appointments.

Faxes have a way of getting sent to the wrong number, lost, mis-filed or directed to the wrong person. We confirm every fax that goes out of our office. Confirming appointments can prevent you from driving across town and then finding out the person you are meeting is no longer available. It also reminds the person you are meeting about the time and gives them a chance to be better prepared.  I don't remember the last time I sent a fax, but I do remember the last time I sent an email and then wondered why it wasn't answered, only to find out it didn't go through.  The point is to confirm the important stuff.

4. Every phone call could be from a customer.

Always answer the phone assuming that a customer could be calling. Some people like to call at odd hours and leave voice mail. It is impressive when they catch you working late and you answer professionally.

5. You get what you want by helping enough other people get what they want.

I believe business is all about providing service to other people. I believe that Zig Ziglar might have said this originally.

6. Get your name in front of people.

Reputation and name recognition are two very valuable assets of a company.

7. Be honest.

Always. No exceptions in my book. Besides being right, it makes good business sense. People who lie eventually get caught and aren't trusted. If a person will lie about a little thing they will lie about a big thing.

8. Call the person who writes the check to make sure that we are going to be paid on time.

Don't wait until an account is past due to find out they never received the invoice. It is easy for an invoice to get lost. Make it easy to get paid.

9. It's not a "Done Deal" until Jim gets his sucker.

Jim Fudge is my friend and partner. He also used to take every check to the bank and he would celebrate by bringing back suckers. Until the check is in the bank a deal can go down the tubes. Don't relax until you get paid.

10. Always write down all commitments.

Make to-do lists and use a good contact management system. Customers hate when things "fall through the cracks". When they do (and they will) don't make excuses. I hate being told by someone that "they got busy". What, with their good customers? Own up to the mistake and try harder not to miss commitments.

11. Spell check everything.

I'm a terrible speller, but there is no excuse for sending out a document that has spelling errors. (Now watch, one will slip through in this list!)

12. Always get a copy of anything we sign.

It's pretty common to be told "Sign this and we'll send you a copy". Ask for a copy when you sign it. Sometimes they forget to send it and then you have nothing if you ever have to refer to the contract or try to enforce it.

This list of lessons was developed by Terry Gold and James Fudge during the startup and growth of Gold Systems, Inc., a custom telecommunications software firm in Boulder, Colorado. Feel free to use this list in your own business and to make copies if you keep this notice intact. Someday when life slows down I might like to use this list as a basis for a book.

13. NEVER RUN OUT OF CASH

I can’t believe it took me this long to add this lesson.  You can survive anything as a business as long as you don’t run out of cash.  Don’t do it.  Don’t get close.  If you are heading in that direction, create a massive sense of urgency to change what you are doing.  Note to VC backed entrepreneurs:  Big bank balances turn in to small bank balances surprisingly fast. 

 

Entrepreneur Ship Quotes

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Boat tile copy
 
I had dinner with a friend a few weeks ago, and he emailed me today and asked for the "Ship Navigation Quotes" that I have on my desk.

I've always loved the water and I enjoy being on it, in it and under it.  My first memory in life, I think, is of my first swimming lesson.  Mr. Epling said he would give a penny to the person who could duck their head under the water the longest.  My memory is of him lifting me out of the water by my bathing suit because I wasn't ready to come up.  I won the penny.

So – the quotes are really about life and entrepreneurship and they relate so well to what I've experienced since Jim and I started Gold Systems.

The picture that I started this post off with is of a ceramic tile that my wife brought home from the Netherlands for me years ago.  It says "De beste Stuurlui staan aan wal" which translates to english as "The best steersmen are ashore."  It's really easy to stand on the dock and tell the sailor what they are doing wrong, but it gives you a whole different perspective to sail into the storm and to be responsible for the ship.  If people are shouting advice from the dock, they might have good advice, but remember their perspective and that ultimately you and the other people on the boat are responsible for bringing it home safe.

The next one reminds me that good times are easy.

Anyone can hold the helm

"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm."  According to the fortune cookie, Publilius Syrus said this in the first century B.C.  The next quote gets to that idea from another angle.  "A ship is safe in harbor – but that is not what ships are for."  by John Shedd.  The dates don't quite match the John Shedd from Chicago, but I'll bet it's him.

A ship is safe in the harbor

Too many boats (and people) spend their life in harbor because it is safe.

I am not afraid of storms

I've looked to that last quote a lot, especially in 2001 and again this past year.  "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship." by Louisa May Alcott. I'm not suggesting we should sail into storms just to become better sailors, but if you find yourself in a storm, try to learn from the experience and you'll be better prepared for the next storm.  You may still not like storms but after enough of them, you at least gain some confidence that you'll get through them. 

Before quiting my nice safe job (HA!) I thought that if I was in charge, things would be different.  Some are, some aren't. When things get tough I remind myself that THIS is what I wished for and I'm right where I wanted to be all those years ago.  If I ever cross an ocean in my own boat, and I find myself in a storm, I'll try to remember then that "I'm living the dream!"

(When typing in the tags for this post, I noticed the word EntrepreneurShip.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.)

Saturday is the last day for TechStars applications

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Now is a great time to start a company.  One source for some funding and a lot of great connections and mentoring is TechStars, and Saturday is the last day to get your application in for this year.  You still have time!  If you do start a business, you'll get much less realistic time frames from customers and partners, so as Jim used to say in a slightly different context, "Get used to it."

You can find everything you need at Techstars.org.  And don't forget, they've expanded to Boston too so if you can't stand the idea of spending part of your summer here in Boulder, Colorado then I'm sure the Boston entrepreneur community will welcome you too.  If you do apply and get accepted, give me a call when you get to town.

Mind Control

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If you listen to the network news (I don’t recommend it) you will hear that the economy has ground to a halt.  You will also hear about how all of the auto makers have seen their sales cut in half.  But did you hear about the automaker that saw sales increase 14% in January over the same period a year ago?

While the auto market had their worst January since 1963, Hyundai actually increased sales.  I heard the CEO of Hyundai on the radio a few weeks ago and mentioned it to TC North.  TC’s written about “taking the fear out of buying” in his Weekly Encouragement email. 

TC (aka Dr. North) has a long bio, including sports psychology research and consulting with Olympic and professional sports teams.  Somewhere a long the line, he realized that CEOs and sales people are like athletes in that a big part of the game is mental. 

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years talking with TC about entrepreneurship.  When Jim and I started Gold Systems, I was completely unprepared for how the business would affect my attitude, and how my attitude would affect the business.  Thankfully, Jim and I were rarely in-phase – when he was down, I was often up, and when I was down, he would pull me up.

Over the years I’ve learned how to control my attitude most of the time and now I’m more of an optimist than ever.  One thing TC taught me was to catch any negative thoughts quickly and to replace them with positive thoughts.  I know, it sounds like pop psychology gobbledygook, but it works most of the time.  Here’s how it works:

My brain catches sight of a TV news program announcing how bad the economy sucks.  I’m hardly conscious of it, but almost instantly a part of my brain plays the tape of “Look, there’s proof that bad things are happening!  All is lost!”  The conscious part of my brain, which is now on the lookout for this sort of negative thought, grabs control and says, “Not so fast, we’ve seen bad things before and survived just fine.  Things are not as bad as the talking heads on TV want to make them sound.  They are just trying to sell advertisements and suck us into watching more.  Be thankful for all that is going well, and show more compassion to the people who really do have it bad and stop worrying about your own problems.  Oh, and one more thing – good job at catching that negative thought and throwing it out so quickly!”

Now tie this back to the athlete.  When a pro basketball player misses a shot, do you think they run down the court saying to themselves, “I’m a terrible basketball player, and I’m probably going to miss the next shot too and look like an idiot on national TV, and then I’m going to lose my contract and my big fancy house and extravagant lifestyle.”  I don’t know any professional basketball players myself, but I’m guessing that’s not the tape they play.  The good ones shake it off and start telling themselves how they are going to hit the next shot and they keep their mind in the game.

I don’t believe that a good attitude is all that is needed to be a successful entrepreneur or a professional athlete.  Hard work, ability and luck are necessary ingredients.  But to quote TC again, you only have control over two things in life, your actions and your thoughts.  If you don’t get control over your thoughts, everything else is a lot harder.

Here’s a link to TC’s archive of Weekly Encouragement.

Have a great weekend!

Ask the VC live in Boulder

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Jason Mendelson, Managing Director for the Foundry Group, will be speaking at a public event in Boulder, Colorado on February 24th.  This is a great chance to hear about how VC funding works from somebody who's investing in new companies and who is very open and honest about how it really works.  If you have any interest in raising money for your startup, you should also be reading Jason and Brad Feld's blog,  Ask the VC.  Here's a link to the event.