An Entrepreneurs Words Podcast

At the U.S.. Military Academy in West Point, New York, all cadets learn many valuable lessons about life. One in particular seems extra important in this day and age. When something goes wrong - anything at all - cadet is expected to state to a superior officer, "It was my mistake, Sir, and I take full and total responsibility."

Toby founded a small construction company that does quality commercial work. While his company's growth has been extraordinary, he is concerned that it doesn't feel like he's "broken out" yet. And his biggest worry is that he doesn't see how he's going to achieve the scale that he desires.

I am part of a group of investors that formed a funding platform for early stage companies. Some might call us angel investors. We look at a lot of start-up companies and evaluate their founders and product or service ideas. Over the years we've identified a number of founder attributes that are needed for entrepreneurial success in the start-up-world. 

Here are 13 concepts by which I live. They are my guideposts and serve as an Entrepreneur's Primer. They've worked well for me and I'd like to share them with you.

Entrepreneurship can be a very stressful proposition. We're trying to build our businesses and encounter countless challenges along the way. Cutthroat competition, product design issues, labor shortages, cash flow problems, slow sales, shipping snafus, government regulations, incredibly tight deadlines, lack of sleep and a host of other struggles. 

Every entrepreneur understands how critical it is to take care of the customer - that's old hat. We know that unhappy customers will cause our businesses to suffer. This fact has been magnified by social media and how a few damaging reviews can really cause severe and long-term problems. 

I'm not recording this podcast to be judgmental. I'm really not. However, there are some subjects that cannot be discussed without sounding judgmental. So here goes. Let's look at the topic of (gasp!) cheating. 

I listened to a fascinating business podcast the other day. The host was interviewing an entrepreneur who apparently has faced a number of challenges throughout her career. What struck me the most was her statement that she has a "chip on her shoulder." 

The news lately has been pretty grim in many respects. So many headlines were focused on bad things people are doing. There were sexual assault scandals, charges of racism, political mudslinging, competitive misdeeds and a host of other negative events. It seems like many of our citizens were committed to tearing down their fellow man.

There have been some interesting developments in recent times on the subject of capitalism. An angry anti-capitalism movement is in full bloom in the U.S. and around the world. And what do the anti-capitalists want? They are pursuing a moneyless society or some other economic system such as socialism or communism. 

The legendary Sir Richard Branson was 16 when he launched his first business venture in 1967 - a magazine called Student. He followed this with a business selling records through the mail. Thus was born Virgin Records and ultimately a multitude of companies under the Virgin Brand.

Suppose you are an entrepreneur who is seeking start-up funding for a terrific idea you have. You do your homework and put together a solid business plan. Market research shows a lot of upside. Then you pitch your idea to a group of investors and hear the following observations . . .

What two words in the English language couldn't be further apart in their meaning, but are often intertwined for entrepreneurs? The first word by itself is part of the everyday life an entrepreneur - and every other person in the world as well. This word is relatively innocuous. But when connected with the second word it's like adding the primer to dynamite.

We know from our history lessons that in medieval days, members of noble families often lived in castles. These fortresses were imposing in appearance and have stood for centuries - a testament to their design and construction. Deep wide ditches were dug around many castles and filled with water.  

We live in an age of acronyms. I guess they are a form of shorthand. LOL, YOLO, DIY, IMHO, SMH, MTFBWY, FUTAB and ROTFL. If you guessed them all correctly you are in the mainstream of cool. 

You walk into a meeting and there are several people in the room. Two people are scowling, another has his face in his hands, and one person has his body turned away from the others with his arms crossed. It's not hard to surmise that there are some unhappy folks in our midst.

What and when do you celebrate? An odd question you think? He's the backdrop. Humans and their organizations like to celebrate. It's positive, it's fun and it's great for morale. Unfortunately entrepreneurs don't do enough of it.

A friend of mine has a company he started several years ago and he's on an unbelievable roll. If he's not there already it won't be long before his top line revenues exceed nine figures. When I first met him his business was grossing nearly $10 million. Not only has he seen a gigantic increase in his sales, but his profitability is off the charts. I fully expect to read about him in Forbes one of these days. How has he done it?