Though, number seven seems somewhat hard to follow. Like you said, people you tell may not have the follow through needed to complete the idea they are trying; that doesn’t mean they can’t tell an influential person about it or create something similar that they’ve improvised and go from there.

In retrospect, however, it is good to create prototypes or iterations for users to test because, like problems, they are good to catch early on. Though, in my opinion, a good alternative may be to test with a wider audience when the product is near completion so the chances of the opposition stealing your idea may be smaller.

Link : http://8think.com/business/%E5%9C%A8%E6%88%90%E4%B8%BA%E4%BC%81%E4%B8%9A%E5%AE%B6%E4%B9%8B%E5%89%8D%E4%BD%A0%E8%AF%A5%E5%81%9A%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88.html

Thanks for the tips.
Shari Waters

Thanks for the new tagline!

A great article. I wish i had read it and followed it 5 years back. I am 6 years in the industry and this entrepreneurship bug had hit me very early in my career (5 yrs back).

I had overdone everything bob had suggested not to follow. To summarise them.

1. Joined Computer Associates right after engineering (2000).

2. Dint save, and wasted all the money fulfilling desires from childhood (buy new car, flashy audio, home theater etc etc). My credit bills were higher than earnings..

3. Got inspired by every little business idea w/o resources. Met lot of people but could not differentiate between talkers, doers, people with resources, and people with connections. This is attributed to immaturity.

4. Started a company with friends dealing with smart card solutions in 2001 (all were immatured ). Became hard hit by post 9/11 recession. lost lotsa oppurtunity cost and came back to job with lesser pay than 1st job.

5. Dint learn from my mistakes i again kept trying. 2003 i opened another company by myself to do BPO services. This time i could understand financials, and could write very good business plans. But was again immature in evaluating all the parameters. Overall it ended up with heavy losses in terms of oppurtunity costs..

Everytime, when the attemps failed it resulted in heavy loss and major financial and emotional agony.

6. Twice beaten, thrice shy, came back to job. took a longer time to recuperate from bad experiences. Now doing a job where i can practise intrapreneurship..

Working as a consultant for PwC.. planning an MBA from INSEAD. after that few years of management consulting career before i again walk the roads of entreprenueship again..

If today if i had to write on the same, i would have written what Rob has summaried.

You see after failing twice and going through the hardships, u feel a brotherhood with all who has failed and all the wannabe’s.

So request to all the wanna be entreprenuers, do not repeat the same mistakes, learn from others mistakes, and this these advice seriously..

Also, please do not take entrepreurship very emotionally. U have to be more answerable than your job, u have to work very hard, and the risks are very high..

Its a long road and never loose vision and courage.

Good luck and Best wishes

Great suggestions – and great blog in general. I’m definitely going to add a link to your blog on our site.

I listen to lots of pitches and read many prospective entrepreneurs’ business plans. The best ideas are the ones that are pulled by the market. They address real problems that customers are trying to solve and are willing to pay for. In the best case, an entrepreneur will have at least the first customer committed before making the plunge.

You wouldn’t believe how many people, when asked who their first customer will be, really have no idea.

Being someone who is exactly in the situation you mention, here is my preparation:
1. Learn
a. Books ( try to read all the books from Kaufman’s Personal MBA list)
b. Academic: I am getting an MBA. You need skills in Marketing, Management, Leadership, Strategy, Economics…
c. Learn from others:
I. Read blogs of entrepreneurs
II. Read blogs by VCs
III. Read subject blogs on entrepreneurship

I like your idea about writing a Letter to the Future. I am going to try that today! in email.

http://techmba.blog.asu.edu