The shoes of a boss

I’ve been wanting to put some thoughts down on “paper” about this for a while.  Let’s just say it’s been on my heart and mind a lot.  In the course of being a businessman and computer hacker, I travel quite a bit, often I travel to speak at conferences.  Without a doubt the number one top topic that I’ve noticed catches the attention of the audience, and almost always (except in the case of a particularly comatose audience) causes the eyes of the youngest members of the crowd to glisten is the following : entrepreneurship or being your own boss.

With that in mind here are some thoughts and hopefully what you’ll consider as valuable, useful advice about being your own boss.

I’ve done this a “few” times to say the least.  As far back as I can remember it was second nature for me to start a business.  I recall very clearly as a freshman in high school, starting a TV program about personal computers together with some friends.  Mind you, this was in the early eighties (yes I know, I am dating myself).  This was well before the mass popularity of personal computers, one friend had a Commodore 64 (or Vic-20, I can’t recall exactly), one of us had a Radio Shack TRS-80 (or trash 80 as it became known) and one of us had access to his father’s IBM PC, complete with dual 5 ¼ inch floppy drives and a monitor that only displayed green text on a black background.  Obviously this is far, far before the advent of desktop video editing and we actually had to tape and edit our shows on video tape editors, and we loved every second of it.  Years later, in college I started a bulletin board system (or BBS, a kind of precursor to the internet) out of my dorm room, after that it was assembling personal computers for sale to students, just to name a few.

Some of my businesses have been very successful, some have failed in a spectacular manner as well, leaving me broke, in debt and wondering how I’ll provide for my family.  Incidentally my first business when I just got married and we had two children left me in the above situation, I’ll tell you what, in those times you learn in a hurry and really see what cloth you’re cut from as a man and as a person.  None the less, I always would end up working for myself again, so I am a bit of an expert at this.  Through it all, what have I learned?  Quite a few things actually, and here are some tips to get you started. 

1. One, to be a successful business-person, you must be prepared to take and responsibly handle risks.  This means that you’ve got to be prepared to go left when the whole world around you goes right.  It also means you live ready to be able to react when it’s time to take a risk.  This means often you’ll find yourself under incredible stress, but you’ll need to learn to be able to continue working right through the stress, because after all, you are the boss and no guaranteed salary is coming to save or ease your stress at the end of the month.  
2. Two, being a successful businessperson means you learn to see first and secondly decode the present circumstances or reality you find yourself in and you react accordingly.   Nothing will kill a business quicker than executing a great idea too soon or too late.  
3. Three, and this is key, to be successful at being your own boss, you must understand in advance that you’ll work harder than you ever have in your life.  Don’t for a second be taken in by the common fallacy that being your own boss means you can take it easy when you want to and won’t be subject to the whims of management and other superiors.  WRONG.  Being your own boss and being successful will mean you’re not only working more hours, but you and you alone will be responsible for your company.  Employee messed up and a customer is pissed?  It’s on you.  Supplier messed up your stock order and clients have a deadline?  It’s on you.

So being your own boss places you under high stress, you take on huge risks, you need to almost learn to see the future and everything that goes wrong falls on your shoulders?  So why would anyone want to start a business, why would anyone subject themselves to such anguish?  Well speaking for myself, I can say this, I was born for this.  I could not see myself doing

anything other than this.  I find myself late at night seeing new opportunities for business without even trying.  I visit the mall and while most people notice what’s in the shop windows I notice new ways of doing business in the mall.

In closing let me share this a tweet-able quote.  A successful leader has shoes that are polished on the top, as well as worn at the bottom.

The pictures shown here are my actual shoes, both pictures taken very recently.  I still wear these shoes fairly regularly, they help keep me in check.  Feel free to confirm whenever you see me, if I got them on that is.