Apr 11, 2016

Issue #7: On Being an "Entrepreneur"

Revue

James Costa

April 11 · Issue #7 · View online

A batch of thoughts, resources, and motivation from a friendly digital agency owner delivered every Monday at 6am ET.

The word “entrepreneur” has always made me cringe. For me, the thought of being an entrepreneur meant building businesses solely for the purpose of selling them, or building ones that won’t last. Whenever anyone would tell me that I’m an entrepreneur, I told them I’d rather be called a business owner because I feel as though it implies a feeling of trust. I’m not building a business to be rich, I’m building one around the career I want.

Especially in technology where companies are being sold or invested in on high valuations daily, I think we lose track on what it means to be a business. This isn’t to say venture funding or acquisitions are dirty or the wrong way of going about building a business, but I do think that people who focus on these things as being the measure of success puts them on a crash course. The conversation becomes “how do I raise more funds” instead of “how do I build a profitable and sustainable business”.

Now, I don’t think of all entrepreneurs as sell outs, but I do want to think about what it means to be a business and to be building one. We interact with businesses ever day (yay capitalism!). From the coffee shop we walk into, to the corner store we buy milk from. Each of these businesses have their own problems, successes, and opportunities. Yet we don’t take the time to stop and learn from businesses outside of tech that have managed to be around longer than we’ve been using computers.

It’s not to say that business owners in other industries always have the answers to our problems, but I think our businesses would be shaped far differently if instead of being inspired solely by entrepreneurs in tech, we took the time to be inspired by “Jane from the convenience store across the street who has been running a business with her family for 29 years”. In case you want to learn from some of these businesses, I’ve shared a link below to a podcast by the folks at Basecamp called The Distance that you should check out!

P.S.: If you have a moment and enjoyed this week’s issue, I’d really appreciate your support sharing this newsletter. Whether it’s a forward, a Twitter post, or writing a love song about this, it would mean the world to me.

Good Reads

Until the End of the Internet

m.signalvnoise.com – Share

Great thoughts by the team at Basecamp on how they’ve made their software and services built to last. How can we apply this to the decisions, strategies, and creations we have an impact on daily?

Structuring One on Ones to Maximize Your Team's Success

tomtunguz.com – Share

“Terrific managers and team leaders alter the trajectory of their startups by inspiring, enabling and empowering their teams to achieve audacious goals.”

The Distance Podcast

thedistance.com – Share

A podcast by Basecamp about longevity in business, featuring the stories of businesses that have endured for at least 25 years and the people who got them there.

Business Kryptonite

medium.com – Share

Andrew Wilkinson (founder of MetaLab) talks margins, knowing your numbers, and building a sustainable business.

The 7 Step Evening Ritual That Will Make You Happy

www.bakadesuyo.com – Share

I hate “step” articles as much as the next guy, but this reflection on having a solid evening ritual is key. In an industry plagued by the thought that you’re not successful unless you don’t sleep, there’s some solid thoughts on how to sleep better so you can make better decisions.

It's Okay Not To Lead

www.daedtech.com – Share

There’s this idea that to be successful in your career is being in some sort of executive or management role even though we love the work we were doing before moving into those positions. This article reflects on what “moving up” looks like now, and changes the perspective to doing what you love.

Inspiration for the Week

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves – to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.” - Stewart B Johnson

In Closing

My computer has been in the shop for the past few days, and I’ve been working solely from my iPad. While the experience of working solely from an iPad can be tough at times (especially when selecting text, working in textareas, and working with incompatible sites), I love how much more focused I can be on individual tasks. I’ve ended up learning a lot about how I work most effectively, and how to make sure I don’t lose track of anything (writing notes on everything and reading them every time I’m changing context). Sometimes I think we forget to slow down, reflect, and improve on how we work so we can be more effective.

If you have any questions or I can help you in any way, all you have to do is respond to this email.

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