“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” -Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs offered insightful decision making strategies to entrepreneurs in his 2005 Stanford commencement address. Every morning when you look in the mirror as you are about to start your day, ask yourself “Am I doing the work that I WANT to do today?”  When the answer is “No” for too many days in a row, it is time to change something.

Stay hungry

Hungry people take decisive actions with purpose and passion.  Hunger forces you to respect your resources and apply careful reasoning to their consumption.  Hunger keeps you searching.

                       Stay Foolish

Keep your dead-serious perspective in perspective.  Although your business is a serious matter, reinventing portions of your business in foolish ways can lead to discoveries, growth, and opportunity.  Remaining foolish keeps you enjoying your work. 

"Stay hungry, stay foolish."  Steve Jobs left these as his closing thoughts to the Stanford grads;  these words inspired many of his own decisions and supported his success over the years.  What will you do with this advice?

Make your business better than you!

Startup companies face a myriad of challenges every day; in order to deliver top quality solutions and products to your customers, make your company better with everyday decisions.

New Employees

“It’s hard to find good help these days.”  Good talent comes at a premium and can be hard to attract as a startup company.  With every new employee you hire, ensure they are better than you at something.  If you can afford it, hire someone who is better than you at most things, or everything!  With every brilliant new addition, the company’s institutional knowledge and skills multiply; your brainy employees will elevate the original company beyond what you thought was possible.

                                              Mentors

You should always be wary of business advice, especially from someone who doesn't have skin in the game.  To get good advice find a fellow entrepreneur who has emerged triumphant from the overwhelmingly dooming odds of the startup world.  Learn from their mistakes and successes as much as you can.  You may not be able to get Mark Zuckerberg to coach you, but there are plenty of experienced people who are waiting for you to ask for their help.  Search LinkedIn for someone who shares a similar background and has the business experience to help guide you.  Send them a short InMail, and you will be surprised at the responses you get.