Archive for May, 2008

10 Clues You Have the Entrepreneurial Mindset

May 28th, 2008

An entrepreneur is someone who wants more control over his or her life. He or she is naturally curious and fascinated by the business and marketing of everything and the world in general. An entrepreneur wants to try new things and is willing (and eager) to take risks.

For true entrepreneurs, it’s not about the money as much as it is about doing something interesting. You might be an entrepreneur and just not know it yet.

The following are 10 Clues that you Have the Entrepreneurial mindset:

1) No cocktail napkin is safe from the frantic scribbling of your pen.

2) You wake up in the middle of the night and smile because you’re dreaming about multiple streams of income knocking down your door.

3) You decorate your cubicle with a copy of the famous Scream painting because that’s how you feel when you’re sitting in it.

4) It’s 2 a.m and you’re awake.

5) The next time you plan to go into an office is when it says “Boss” on your door.

6) Your idea of hell is a building that requires key card access.

7) You tell your children that they shouldn’t worry about monsters in closets or boogie men under their bed. They should worry about middle management.

8 ) You own one white collared shirt—for the eventual meeting with venture capitalists. Because even though your angel investors say they don’t want to see you dressed professionally, you know it will help you get them to give you a check.

9) Coffee isn’t a choice. It’s a necessity.

10) In an entrepreneur’s eyes, the piano key necktie is not just a novelty gag gift from the 80′s. It was a product created by an astute entrepreneur filling a demand in the marketplace. Okay, disregard this one. Move on to the real #10.

10) When you walk into a store, you think about what the rent costs, what the markup is, how much the employees cost, the store location, lighting bills, and the company’s position in the marketplace. In other words, you think too much.

But it’s this thinking that just might make you rich. Or better yet, happy.

What You Can Learn from Politicians, or, How to Scheme and Connive Your Way into a Job

May 24th, 2008

can you smell the success?

I would never suggest that anyone look up to politicians as role models. They’re arrogant, power hungry, and have their own varying understandings of what the word “truth” means. But having said this, there are a few things you can learn from the way politicians run for office and stay there.

The following six points are the basic tenets of running for political office that can also be applied to getting a job or rising in a company. Use these tactics wisely. I would say use them for “good” too, but you’re only human.

1) Attraction. Make yourself appear as attractive as possible. Embellish everything you’ve ever done.

2) Distraction. Talk about what you have done in glowing terms and distract from what you haven’t done or what you don’t want others to know you’ve done.

3) Spin everything. Never talk negatively about yourself. The only time politicians are slightly self-deprecating is when they get caught in an affair with an intern or a graft scandal. They are never down on themselves in public. This type of negativity spreads like wildfire. Nobody likes someone with low confidence. If you are cornered and have to fess up to something, never blame it on yourself, blame it on that convenient scapegoat, your “actions,” as in, “My actions were completely immoral…” etc.

4) Relentlessly name drop. Anyone who has done anything positive and is held in a good light even if only tangentially related to you, claim this person.

5) Talk about yourself. This might be the most important point here. Politicians don’t ever shut their mouths. Most people are taught to be polite and not talk about themselves and their achievements. But the truth is the most obnoxious people get the most attention. If you don’t constantly tell people how great you are, how are they going to know? Attention is good. Really, really good. Get some.

6) Pose for photo ops. You may not be able to do this literally. But you can do this figuratively by casting your accomplishments and deeds in a positive light so that people see a positive picture of you. Whether it’s sepia-toned or black and white, create a positive image of yourself and put it out there. The first person who needs to believe in this image is you. Others will follow.

The Entrepreneur’s Journey

May 16th, 2008

After graduating from college in 2003, I quickly decided to keep the “real world” at bay for just a little longer by seeing more of the, uh, real world. With nothing but a big red backpack I purchased at REI, I hopped on a plane headed for France.

I backpacked with a friend and saw some of the most incredible man-made structures ever created, iconic pieces of artwork, and encountered interesting people from all over the world.

A lot of my time on this two month journey of haphazardly criss-crossing western Europe with a few trips into eastern Europe (I had an unlimited Eurail pass) I did a lot of thinking. When you’re sitting on a train staring down the barrel of a 13 hour overnight journey, there’s not much else to do.

I thought a lot about what I wanted to do with my life, how I would go about finding a job when I returned to my home in the United States, and what I wanted to do in terms of a career. I wondered if I should go to law school like I told myself I would.

I didn’t come up with any concrete answers. And now I realize that there really are no answers–at least for me. And I know a lot of other people like me. I realize that the only way I’m going to be happy is by pursuing what I’m interested in today. I am not going to be happy in a job that I am not totally excited to go into each and every day, minus vacation days and holidays. Sure, sometimes we have to work jobs we don’t like to pay the bills. That’s life.

What I’m getting at here is taking steps everyday to inch closer to what you really do want to do with your life. This makes having a not-so-fulfilling job sort of fulfilling: the fact that it helps you pay the bill while you move closer to your goals.

I realize that you have to take action. Today. Right now. If you want to be a writer, outline an article or jot down some ideas, do some research. If you want to be an internet entrepreneur, take steps to start a blog or a website today. If you start a project today, continuing to work on it tomorrow or next week becomes much easier.

This website is about finding the entrepreneurial path that works for you. I want Gainfully Unemployed to be a resource of articles, news, and information about working for the best boss in the world. You.