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Sorry Guy It's Not So Easy: The Flip Side of Entrepreneurship
blog.guykawasaki.com — Great guest post by Glenn Kelman, who offers a counterpoint to Guy Kawasaki's posting about how easy it is to make millions of dollars with "user-generated, long-tail, Web 2.0, social-networking, open-source content." Glenn brings things back to reality and shows how hard, not how easy, it is to build a new company.
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- mdjohnson1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+25It's real easy to build a business with 2 hours of work per day ... but much harder if you want it to be successful.
- brundlefly76, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Exactly.
If your business isn't successful you haven't even really had experience building a business yet.
Also, a lot of entrepreneurs work very hard at their business and call it easy, but actually work a lot more then wage earners, its just that that is what they enjoy doing so it seems like less effort.
- brundlefly76, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Exactly.
- pamvanorden, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Excellent insight to the reality of starting up. I'll be sharing this with the CEOs of several client companies. Well written too.
Love this quote in particular: To make something elegant takes time, and the cult of speed sometimes works against that. "Make haste slowly." - RickSchumacher, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Excellent reality check (List) of which #7; "It'll always be hard work." best says it all for me. That has always been a key axiom and will always be .
- eric0213, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've been working on a site for awhile and I keep thinking, once it's done it can run on its own and I can work on other things. I know that's not true, but I keep telling myself that anyway.
- raisputin3, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I am preparing to open my own business right now. I figured that writing the business plan and getting all the details I would need would be easy. So far I am 3 months into the plan and nowhere near completing it and this is a "small" brick and mortar business that according to my research shows great numbers that any bank should be more than happy to fund. It is in the details and it is much harder than I expected.
- strafefire, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Try just taking a small recorder, and telling everything about you business into it. Then go to a site like elance.com or Guru.com, and have some one transcribe it for you for like $20-40...or better yet, they will also make it for you for a larger fee...
- manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Three months is a long time. Maybe you have too much going on and it's time to start simplifying.
- DutchGuilder, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3> that any bank should be more than happy to fund
Ha ha, that a good one. Banks rarely fund any startup, unless the loans are secured by collateral outside of the business. Banks are in the business of making loans (very safe loans only), not funding in startups. - shurva1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0It's great to have your own business; the start up is both exciting and nerve racking since, no matter how great your business plan, something always seems to be forgotten, omitted or unforeseen. I agree with "DutchGuilder" who said that banks are oftentimes not interested in funding new businesses via unsecured loans, so make sure you have collateral. One thing I would STRONGLY advise is to do tons and tons of RESEARCH. Location is KEY, depending on the type of business. Pay close and particular attention to your clientele and do target marketing. I'll stop now.... but I recently started my own business, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. BEST OF LUCK!
- useful, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Offload the stuff you don't enjoy on others.
- hiPpymIck, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2wow.. Dostoevsky EzraPound TheVenerableBede... not forgetting SteveJobs SteveBallmer and SaddamHussein
..maybe he should be starting up a quotations store not a fledgling real estate site - Error601, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Usually people that tell you it's easy want to sell you a worthless book on how to do it.
- FaithclubDotNet, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Ugh.
#1 Programming is tough
#2 Making a business is tough.
Having to do both perfectly in order to be successful= Tough^2
I've tried to make a MMORPG before UO came out, I know.- drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Programming isn't tough.
Programming while trying to handle business decisions, money issues, people issues, design issues, etc is tough. The problem is too many programmers think they can handle it all. The reality is nobody can do it all. Nobody is good at everything. Even if you ( the programmer ) have a kick ass idea that you *know* will net millions, you would be setting yourself up for failure if you don't take at least 1 partner, probably better with 2 or 3.- mattdono, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's the old saying, "All of us are smarter than some of us." Collaborative Intelligence will always reign supreme, IMO. Being able to form a solid team...now, that's the real challenge.
When you have the right ingredients, then success is *more* possible.
But, Success isn't inevitable. Hard work, however, can make it close-to-inevitable (and, even then, ***** happens). - HaltingPoint, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3As someone who works at a top Interactive Agency (we do all the digital marketing for our clients, make their websites, etc.) that does some cutting edge work and has some brilliant programmers, I'd like to disagree with your comment on programming not being tough.
I am not a programmer. I am immersed on a daily basis on the strategic (my role), creative and tech details that go into a site, but I lack the actual programming skills to develop it myself. The bar for creating a GOOD website that does most of what people expect a site to do these days has gone WAY up. Used to be you could know Photoshop, HTML, cut and paste some javascript and you could make a top of the line site.
Now you need to know CSS, PHP, MySQL, Java, XML, Flash, Actionscript etc. or some combination of those if you want to make anything halfway modern. Each of those languages takes time to learn and get good with. Time is money.
Its why good web developers are so damn expensive. But if someone knows a good resource for people in my situation who have TONS of ideas but lack the programming knowledge please let me know. I'd love to hire some low-priced coders or find some people interested in going in on a venture.- maxim2112, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Web sites? He said "Programming", not scripting.
- mattdono, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's the old saying, "All of us are smarter than some of us." Collaborative Intelligence will always reign supreme, IMO. Being able to form a solid team...now, that's the real challenge.
- gr3yn3t, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Programming isn't tough, but I'm sure designing and coding a 1/2way decent MMORPG solo is...
- drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Programming isn't tough.
- eastbrook, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I totally agree with Kelman, but that doesn't mean that James Hong and Markus Frind aren't still heroes for doing it in their pjs.
- duke3k, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Quick, someone forward this to Kevin "on his third strike" Rose.
- crawf061, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4what do you mean by "on his third strike"?
Please expand on it- duke3k, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I mean both digg and rev3 are narrowly targeted to an almost advertising immune audience and pownce sucks. None of them stand a chance at a liquidity event.
- p0tent1al, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2by 3rd strike, he means Pownce
- goflyers, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Oh no, someone is trying to make a joke at the expense of Digg and/or Kevin Rose, they must be stopped.
Do the needful.
- crawf061, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4what do you mean by "on his third strike"?
- godamit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3wainting for the "how to make your own successful business spending two hours a day" article
- mffnike, on 10/10/2007, -14/+4I hate entrepreneurs. Successful ones anyway. "Oh guys..this is too difficult. Trust me, you don't want in on this. Seriously, please don't start a business. It's too hard. You'll never make money." What they are actually saying: This is too damn easy, I make a lot of money and have no competition. Please don't become my competition. Wake up and smell the BS ladies and gentlemen, people have been using this trick for years. They are making money and they don't want you to cut in on their profits.
- smith288, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1There is nothing here saying dont start a business. The idea isnt to prevent people from starting a business so they dont infringe on their idea but actually an honest outlook on the difficulties of starting one and making money.
You just gave a weak attempt at analyzing this topic. There is enough money in a variety of niches to make money but dont expect it to be easy when you set out to do it. Thats really the bottom line. - DruSam, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I hate sports teams that win games.
...??? - chrisc262, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1so, how is your business doing?
- drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1STARTING a business IS hard. Most start-ups fall flat and fail miserably. Too many people get sucked into the idea that the only way to make money is to work for yourself, which is mostly true. Unfortunately, most people lack the skills, intuition, and initiative to run a successful business. Most have no clue how to even set up a business plan.
If your business happens to still be in business and turning a profit after 5 years, then it gets easier. It's still a lot of hard work. Just because someone is making a lot of money after decade doesn't mean they didnt work their ass off to get there.
- smith288, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1There is nothing here saying dont start a business. The idea isnt to prevent people from starting a business so they dont infringe on their idea but actually an honest outlook on the difficulties of starting one and making money.
- SkullWolf, on 10/10/2007, -7/+8Like I needed this story to know that Guy Kawasaki is a douchebag.
- godamit, on 10/10/2007, -14/+1chinese douchebag, lemme add
- broohaha, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Stupid comment. You don't even have the right ethnicity.
- duke3k, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Isn't Guy Japanese? Not that his ethnicity should have anything at all to do with it.
- godamit, on 10/10/2007, -14/+1chinese douchebag, lemme add
- manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I think that this article is a little too absolute. Sometimes things just align right for some people. It comes down how you approach the problem. Better planning and focus in the beginning makes anything a lot easier. Also, providing an actual service that people need also helps. Falling in love with a project and perfectionism are guaranteed ways to make things way more difficult then they need to be.
- smith288, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Starting a business IS hard when you have a dumb idea like Truemors and try to make it work. Talk about starting behind the eight-ball...
- thomasb227, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Bottom line: those guide worked hard to get their projects off of the ground. Maintenance is not as big a deal.
I've worked for myself for 6 years and it's far harder than working for someone else. However, you really, really like your boss. - jason469, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Of course it's not easy. If you want success you must work hard for it, most successful people that I know work just as hard or even harder than the regular nine to five average joe.
My aunt has a pretty successful travel agency and she works 60 hour weeks and always has business on her mind. She travels about 10 times a year, but even when she's on vacation she's still calling in, still thinking about how to make her business more successful and new ways to run things.
She's always told me that she loves what she does, but there are times that she would just like to have a normal nine to five job.....and then reality kicks in and she remembers her nice house, nice car, and having a lot of money in the bank. - DangerCollie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2There's nothing easy about running your own business. I'm on my fourth one. There's a routine but that doesn't mean it's easy, just means I'm used to the routine. Permits, corporate structure, liability insurance, contracts, quarterly taxes...none of that is easy. Even the pajama guys have to do all that. So will you if you decide to go that route. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Despite our problems the US is still the greatest country in the world for an entrepreneur. If you hustle and you're smart you can make a living. Some days you can work in your underwear and every day is take your dog to work day. But if you have visions of a corner office with a former Ms. Texas for a secretary then you need to put the bong down, home boy.
- FredoBerfil, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Guy Kawasaki makes his money selling "how to get rich" books and seminars. I never listen to people like that.
- sark666, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Just started the article, but regarding the first bit:
"...multi-million dollar websites like Hot or Not and Plenty of Fish in their underwear. Their stats are jaw-dropping: twelve billion page views, 380 hits per second, two hours of work a day."
I remember hearing of hot or not a couple of years back, checked it out for a chuckle for 30 seconds and never visited it again. I thought it would be long gone by now or just getting by. Your telling me that site is generating millions of dollars? At a sustainable rate?
Who the hell keeps going to these sites, it can't be all new viewers?!- DutchGuilder, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Yeah "Plenty of Fish" and "Hot or Not" are still around, each earning a net profit of > $5M/year. POF is run by 1 guy with no employees earning revenue from Adsense. HoN had 2 employees and earned money from subscriptions, but recently hired several employees and is trying to shift to Adsense for revenue.
- Richman777, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Great article. In the middle of a start-up with some friends myself and I can totally relate to many items on that list. It is sort of disheartening when you see those fluke success stories about how easy it is and you're trying to so hard. It's nice to have something that supports all the hard work we're putting into it.
- legendxx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Worthless article.. anyone who thinks starting a business is easy is an idiot and doesn't deserve a second-look.
- bshock, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Oh, so you mean that Guy Kawasaki might actually be the self-promoting, know-nothing, vacuous blowhard that I've been saying he is every time someone posts an article by him on Digg? Imagine that.
- bfaulk04, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I'd digg this comment up twice if I could. I really, REALLY do not like Guy Kawasaki.
- Iamnotwhoiam, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2The first thing one has to realize when starting their own business is that every other established business you are going up against is going to try everything and anything in the book to make sure you fail.
This includes out right lying about you. I had that problem when I left the corporate world and started my own computer service company. On the bright side, I hung in there and no less than three of my competitors have closed shop, due mainly to my service and reduced rates. Throat cutting goes both ways. - Bodhidharmazen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Well of course it is hard. Really hard. Specially when you are not sitting in millions of dollars, or have a rich aunt, or rich friends. Good ideas come from anywhere, but only those which are supported get realized. From those, only the ones people choose will succeed. And this is something no one can predict.
- sark666, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2I knew some html, php, mysql from a few years back making a website but never continued. What is recommended to learn in developing a 'web 2.0' page? Ajax? asp.net? both? others?
- peppies, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I think it depends on what business you get into and what the hot trends are. I've had many trial and error plans over the years and have been figuring out the online business at least. It's definitely not easy, it takes a ton of work and consistency to keep it going. You have to put in the work if you want to sit back and have money rolling in automatically.
There are many ways outside of online business. Real estate and stock trading are also hot right now as well. I've developed a new Entrepreneur type of forum for anyone who needs help finding ideas or needs questions. It's located at: http://www.bigmoneyforum.com/make-money-forum/index.php
Like I said, you will probably have to work consistently for a long period of time before you finally get it right. I hope this helps
Best Regards - peppies, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I think it depends on what business you get into and what the hot trends are. I've had many trial and error plans over the years and have been figuring out the online business at least. It's definitely not easy, it takes a ton of work and consistency to keep it going. You have to put in the work if you want to sit back and have money rolling in automatically.
There are many ways outside of online business. Real estate and stock trading are also hot right now as well. I've developed a new Entrepreneur type of forum for anyone who needs help finding ideas or needs questions. It's located at: http://www.bigmoneyforum.com/make-money-forum/index.php
Like I said, you will probably have to work consistently for a long period of time before you finally get it right. I hope this helps
Best Regards- peppies, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0sorry about the double post, internet is choppy :(
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