1. You feel lonely and isolated

I have a good friend who is a one-man startup team.  He will use team members and throw them away as if they were condoms.  My friend is a startup machine who has sacrificed friends, girlfriends, and has even moved out of the country in order to make his company successful.  Because of this, he lives a lonely and isolated life away from family and friends.

The Future Delivery team is tight-knit.  But even though we have a great company culture, most of our contact is virtual: skype, gchat, and emails.  There are times when I’m sitting at home wishing there was someone physically working along side me because it helps with motivation and to pick up your spirits when you’re down.  When you have a bad day at the office, it’s hard to talk to someone about it through Gchat, so you really just have to suck it up alone.

The isolation isn’t just relevant to your company team.  Your friends and people working in the corporate environment cannot relate to you.  Your family will tell you to “go find a real job that makes money.”  Your former co-workers will look at you as if you’re just playing around with a toy that is for little kids.  When you conducting business development and meet with partners of large firms, they’ll ask you “so what do you do besides this as your full-time?” because they just don’t realize that a startup company is way more than a full-time job.

I would describe the lonliness like a girlfriend that people don’t approve of and don’t want you to be with.  You love her with everything you have, but there are always people saying that “she’s no good for you” or that look down upon you because they don’t like her.  Are you man enough to ignore the critics and push throgh the lonliness?

2. There is never enough money

Well, I think this is a problem for most people, but multiply that problem by 10 and you’ll realize what entrepreneurs have to go through.  Sure we can’t buy new clothes, a new laptop, a new iPhone, or go out on fancy cruises for vacation.  So what, most people have to sacrifice that through tough times right?

I think the hardest thing for me is staying healthy because I just don’t want to eat out because it costs so much money.  I currently live back home in Huntington Beach to save money on rent, but most of our business and team members are in Los Angeles,  so I go up to LA 2-3 times a week for business.  During these 2-3 days, I do my best to bring up food from home to eat, but traffic is so BAD here in LA that I end up rushing out the door without preparing any food just so I can’t get to my meeting on time.  This means that I will only eat breakfast at home at 9am, and probably not eat till 6pm for dinner – if I decide to eat dinner.  This ridiculous eating habbit that I’ve created has made me lose 10 pounds in the past month!

An unpredictable schedule and needing to save on money has caused me to sacrifice even the most fundamental things like food.  Now I’m not saying that most people are as hardcore (or as stupid) as I am, but it’s just the situation that I feel I have had to create because I have chosen to be an entrepreneur.

3. Relationships suffer

Yes, we do have flexible schedules.  We can work in the afternoon, on weekends, or late at night at 2 in the morning. Because of this, my girlfriend assumes that I should accomodate my schedule to fit her needs.  She’s a beautiful, wonderul, caring person, but she LOVES attention and is a self-proclaimed “cuddle monster.”

So what does this mean for my company? It’s not that bad to take your girlfriend out once a week right?  I mean, that’s the least I can do.  Well, in actuality, it’s not just once a week.  You have to take into account the nights I spend at her place, the nights she sleeps over at mine, the lunches that we eat together, the errands that we run together, and the morning when I don’t want to get out of bed because it’s just so comfortable to sleep in her arms.

Yu-kai and I have a theory – Having a girlfriend reduces your chances of entrepreneurial success by 15%.  Just think about it; all the fights, occassional depression, phone calls, money spending, and even happy times all take their toll on the company.

4. Mult-tasking is a must

Remember the interview question: “What are your 3 greatest strengths?”  9 times out of 10, one of your strengths was “multi-tasking.”  In the corporate world, you really don’t need to multi-task.  You get your project, work with your team on the project, deliver your results to the client, and you’re finished.

As an entrepreneur, I’m ALWAYS handling more than 5 different projects at once.  Once I finish one project, I have to move onto my endless to-do list that just keeps piling up and never shrinks down.  Not only do I have to work on Future Delivery projects, but I have to do business development for my own consulting work.

Imagine this situation: You’re working for a company that pays you nothing.  In addition to working 70+ hours in a week on FD, I have to work another 20+ hours on client projects and on conducting business development so that I can have cash flow to survive.  There’s just no end to it!  I work, work, work for the company that I love, but get paid no money so I have to go find a freakin client in this terrible economy that will pay me for my services.  And you know that when a company is in a crunch, the first thing to go is the consultant.

Can you handle all of these things at once?  Can you handle product development, branding, business development, and design ALL at once.  If you can’t, then maybe the E-life isn’t for you.

5. The ups and downs are like a roller coaster

Up: We launch FD Career

Down: We lose our CTO
Down: We lose a lead developer
Down: We lose a designer

Up: We sign Disney Interactive Media Group as an official partner of FD Career

Down: The economy is horrendous so we can’t find investor funding
Down: Our other partners, Northwestern and Cast, are slow moving and don’t give us what we need
Down: Cash flow is wearing thin

As you can see, every single up is accompanied by at least 3 times as many downs.  It’s not just something that you can leave at work.  If you’re frustrated with your corporate job, you can just leave your feelings at the job and come home and forget about everything.  As an entrepreneur, you’re already at home when everything is falling apart!  There is no separation between work and your personal life.  There is NO work/life balance as an entrepreneur.  Can you live with that?  Can you live with no work/life balance?

by JUN LOAYZA on NOVEMBER 15, 2008

1. They listen way more than they talk.

Ask questions. Maintain eye contact. Smile. Frown. Nod. Respond—not so much verbally, but nonverbally.

That’s all it takes to show the other person they’re important.

Then when you do speak, don’t offer advice unless you’re asked. Listening shows you care a lot more than offering advice, because when you offer advice in most cases you make the conversation about you, not them.

Don’t believe me? Who is “Here’s what I would do…” about: you or the other person?

Only speak when you have something important to say—and always define important what matters to the other person, not to you.

2. They don’t practice selective hearing.

Some people—I guarantee you know people like this—are incapable of hearing anything said by the people they feel are somehow beneath them.

Sure, you speak to them, but that particular falling tree doesn’t make a sound in the forest, because there’s no one actually listening.

Remarkably charismatic people listen closely to everyone, and they make all of us, regardless of our position or social status or “level,” feel like we have something in common with them.

Because we do: We’re all people.

3. They put their stuff away.

Don’t check your phone. Don’t glance at your monitor. Don’t focus on anything else, even for a moment.

You can never connect with others if you’re busy connecting with your stuff, too.

Give the gift of your full attention. That’s a gift few people give. That gift alone will make others want to be around you and remember you.

4. They give before they receive—and often they never receive.

Never think about what you can get. Focus on what you can provide. Giving is the only way to establish a real connection and relationship.

Focus, even in part and even for a moment, on what you can get out of the other person, and you show that the only person who really matters is you.

5. They don’t act self-important…

The only people who are impressed by your stuffy, pretentious, self-important self are other stuffy, pretentious, self-important people.

The rest of us aren’t impressed. We’re irritated, put off, and uncomfortable.

And we hate when you walk in the room.

6. …Because they realize other people are more important.

You already know what you know. You know your opinions. You know your perspectives and points of view.

That stuff isn’t important, because it’s already yours. You can’t learn anything from yourself.

But you don’t know what other people know, and everyone, no matter who they are, knows things you don’t know.

That makes them a lot more important than you—because they’re people you can learn from.

7. They shine the spotlight on others.

No one receives enough praise. No one. Tell people what they did well.

Wait, you say you don’t know what they did well?

Shame on you—it’s your job to know. It’s your job to find out ahead of time.

Not only will people appreciate your praise, they’ll appreciate the fact you care enough to pay attention to what they’re doing.

Then they’ll feel a little more accomplished and a lot more important.

8. They choose their words.

The words you use impact the attitude of others.

For example, you don’t have to go to a meeting; you get to go meet with other people. You don’t have to create a presentation for a new client; you get to share cool stuff with other people. You don’t have to go to the gym; you get to work out and improve your health and fitness.

You don’t have to interview job candidates; you get to select a great person to join your team.

We all want to associate with happy, enthusiastic, fulfilled people. The words you choose can help other people feel better about themselves—and make you feel better about yourself, too.

9. They don’t discuss the failings of others…

Granted, we all like hearing a little gossip. We all like hearing a little dirt.

The problem is, we don’t necessarily like—and we definitely don’t respect—the people who dish that dirt.

Don’t laugh at other people. When you do, the people around you wonder if you sometimes laugh at them.

10. …But they readily admit their failings.

Incredibly successful people are often assumed to have charisma simply because they’re successful. Their success seems to create a halo effect, almost like a glow.

Keyword is seem.

You don’t have to be incredibly successful to be remarkably charismatic. Scratch the shiny surface, and many successful people have all the charisma of a rock.  But you do have to be incredibly genuine to be remarkably charismatic.  Be humble. Share your screwups. Admit your mistakes. Be the cautionary tale. And laugh at yourself.  While you should never laugh at other people, you should always laugh at yourself.  People won’t laugh at you. People will laugh laugh with you.They’ll like you better for it—and they’ll want to be around you a lot more.

by: Jeff Haden

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN DOING BUSINESS WITH ToyBox Consulting LLC

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I have started getting several inquires from artists, business, and promoters asking for services, contract reviews and consultation, business plan creation, bio construction, press releases, etc.  TBC endorsements are available to all. 

To become a client of TBC - or inquire about business possiblities, please submit a request to katoya@toyboxinc.net and we can schedule time together and further discuss your Sales Boost Plan, Marketing Plan, Public Relations, Community Relations, Document preparation, Event, Celebrity Booking, Fundraiser, Wedding, Personal Branding, Image Consulting,  etc

I offer several affordable services - bundled, or pay as you go for any project TBC manages for you!

Thanks!

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Anyone building a business, listen up: Stanford is offering 16 free, online courses for anyone looking to pick up a few extra skills. The courses include some technology and entrepreneurship-based subjects that could help you get that edge you need.

Stanford University is the institution for entrepreneurship. In its history, the university spit out notable alumni such as Vint Cerf, now vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, William Hewlett and David Packard of HP, and a number of recognizable technology enthusiasts.

It encourages students to start businesses, and offers courses to that end. Now it’s offering 16 free courses with focuses in business, entrepreneurship, technology, and science. But you don’t have to be a full-time student at Stanford to take advantage. The university says, “the courses are open to anyone with a computer, anywhere.”

For nine of these courses, Stanford is using Coursera, which partners with universities across the country to organize and launch free courses. It thus far has 16 participating universities, in addition to $16 million in its first round of funding. “Writing in the Sciences” and “Human-Computer Interaction” are two of Stanford’s courses being hosted by the startup.

There are a number of courses that could come in handy for someone trying to start a business in the Valley. Here’s a list of what’s coming up this fall:

1. Machine Learning with Professor Andrew Ng, starting August 20

2. Cryptography with Professor Dan Boneh, starting August 27

3. Introduction to Mathematical Thinking with Professor Keith Devlin, startingSeptember 17

4. Probabilistic Graphical Models with Professor Daphne Koller, starting September 24

5. Human-Computer Interaction with Professor Scott Klemmer, starting September 24

6. Introduction to Logic with Professor Michael Genesereth, starting September 24

7. Organizational Analysis with Professor Dan McFarland, starting September 24

8. Writing in the Sciences with Professor Kristin Sainani, starting September 24

9. Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2 with Professor Tim Roughgarden starting inOctober

10. Technology Entrepreneurship with Professor Chuck Eesley, starting in the fall

11. A Crash Course on Creativity with Professor Tina Seelig, starting in the fall

12. Designing a New Learning Environment with Professor Paul Kim, starting in the fall

13. Finance with Professor Kay Giesecke, starting in the fall

14. Startup Boards: Advanced Entrepreneurship with Professor Clint Korver, starting in the fall

15. Solar Cells, Fuel Cells and Batteries with Professor Bruce Clemens, starting October 8

16. An Introduction to Computer Networks with Professors Nick McKeown and Philip Levis, starting October 8

Don’t Check Your Email for the First Hour. Seriously. Stop That.

Tumblr founder David Karp will “try hard” not to check his email until 9:30 or 10 a.m., according to an Inc. profile of him. “Reading e-mails at home never feels good or productive,” Karp said. “If something urgently needs my attention, someone will call or text me.”

Not all of us can roll into the office whenever our Vespa happens to get us there, but most of us with jobs that don’t require constant on-call awareness can trade e-mail for organization and single-focus work. It’s an idea that serves as the title of Julie Morgenstern’s work management book Never Check Email In The Morning, and it’s a fine strategy for leaving the office with the feeling that, even on the most over-booked days, you got at least one real thing done.

If you need to make sure the most important messages from select people come through instantly, AwayFind can monitor your inbox and get your attention when something notable arrives. Otherwise, it’s a gradual but rewarding process of training interruptors and coworkers not to expect instantaneous morning response to anything they send in your off-hours.

Gain Awareness, Be Grateful

One smart, simple question on curated Q & A site Quora asked “How do the most successful people start their day?”. The most popular response came from a devotee of Tony Robbins, the self-help guru who pitched the power of mindful first-hour rituals long before we all had little computers next to our beds.

Robbins suggests setting up an “Hour of Power,” “30 Minutes to Thrive,” or at least “Fifteen Minutes to Fulfillment.” Part of it involves light exercise, part of it involves motivational incantations, but the most accessible piece involves 10 minutes of thinking of everything you’re grateful for: in yourself, among your family and friends, in your career, and the like. After that, visualize “everything you want in your life as if you had it today.”

Robbins offers the “Hour of Power” segment of his Ultimate Edge series as a free audio stream (here’s the 

direct MP3 download). Blogger Mike McGrath also wrote a concise summary of the Hour of Power). You can be sure that at least some of the more driven people you’ve met in your career are working on Robbins’ plan.

Do the Big, Shoulder-Sagging Stuff First

Brian Tracy’s classic time-management book Eat That Frog gets its title from a Mark Twain saying that, if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, you’ve got it behind you for the rest of the day, and nothing else looks so bad. Gina Trapani explained it well in a video for her Work Smart series). Combine that with the concept of getting one thing done before you wade into email, and you’ve got a day-to-day system in place. Here’s how to force yourself to stick to it:

Choose Your Frog

“Choose your frog, and write it down on a piece of paper that you’ll see when you arrive back at your desk in the morning, Tripani advises.“If you can, gather together the material you’ll need to get it done and have that out, too.”

One benefit to tackling that terrible, weighty thing you don’t want to do first thing in the morning is that you get some space from the other people involved in that thing—the people who often make the thing more complicated and frustrating. Without their literal or figurative eyes over your shoulder, the terrible thing often feels less complex, and you can get more done.

Ask Yourself If You’re Doing What You Want to Do

Feeling unfulfilled at work shouldn’t be something you realize months too late, or even years. Consider making an earnest attempt every morning at what the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a graduating class at Stanford to do:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

“Customer Service” (or Your Own Equivalent)

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark answered the first hour question succinctly: “Customer service.” He went on to explain (or expand) that he also worked on current projects, services for military families and veterans, and protecting voting rights. But customer service is what Newmark does every single day at Craigslist, responding to user complaints and smiting scammers and spammers. He almost certainly has bigger fish he could pitch in on every day, but Newmark says customers service “anchors me to reality.”

Your own version of customer service might be keeping in touch with contacts from year-ago projects, checking in with coworkers you don’t regularly interact with, asking questions of mentors, and just generally handling the human side of work that quickly gets lost between task list items. But do your customer service on the regular, and you’ll have a more reliable roster of helpers when the time comes.

AngelHack unites developers around the country for a national hackathon, where you can showcase awesome things and win seed capital from investors.

Twitter:

AngelHack @AngelHack

National Hackathon competitions to unite the startup world and bring investment to great ideas. Next hack is June 23-24 in SF, NYC, SEA, & Boston

http://angelhack.com/a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sfAngelHack

1) Weebly

Using a simplified drag and drop engine, Weebly makes it possible to create a content rich website in minutes, with loads of features. The best part: it’s completely free. Created in 2006, Weebly has become a go-to for startups.

2) Legal Zoom

Founded by a team of legal and tech experts, Legal Zoom provides users with legal documents without the lawyers. In doing so, they’ve made it cheap and quick to get those legal papers you need for your business.

3) Rock the Post

Rock the Post is a social networking platform for entrepreneurs to fund and swap resources. The free site is a great tool for entrepreneurs to leverage their networks and reach new ones, to fill the missing pieces of their projects. With thousands of users and many success cases, Rock the Post is emerging as one of the best crowdfunding sites for entrepreneurs.

4) Square

Square, a creation of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, turns your smartphone or tablet into a credit card reader. For 2.75% of every transaction, you have the ability to accept credit card payments for your business. No card reader, no credit check, more profit.

5) Hootsuite

Hootsuite allows you to manage the social media madness by cross platform message scheduling and extensive data tracking. Seamless analytics across every platform ensures less time managing and more time growing your business.

6) Expensify

To reduce the burden of managing your business’ expenses, Expensify has provided a range of apps to monitor, track, and regulate every dollar spent. The result means more security and less hassle to manage your company wallet.

7) Asana

Asana, the brainchild of Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is a project management program that leverages the full capacity of organizational technology so that you can be connected with your team anytime, anywhere, and in an organized way. This means less phone tag, more collaboration. And it’s free!

8) Mailchimp

Mailchimp, started in 2001, seeks to make it simple to manage even the largest of newsletter lists, which is a great tool to stay connected with customers. Besides providing extensive tracking data, the service is free for up to 2,000 subscribers.

9) Docstoc

Co-founders Alon Shwartz and Jason Nazar created Docstoc to be the repository for business documents. Ease of access for transferring large documents and unparalleled choice of templates means great business documents delivered fast, for cheap.

10) Highrise

Highrise is a user-friendly CRM software that allows you to share contacts, assign tasks and track history of correspondence. Some great features include the ability to update accounts via email and assign permissioned access. The product is free for one user, and if you need multiple accounts, it is reasonably priced.