Category : Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs and Family

Posted by Deborah Fike at 3:27 pm

I just finished reading Steve Jobs’ biography, and man, what a page turner.  Having worked at several start-ups, it was amazing to see that some problems we faced, Apple did too in its early days: disorganization, growing pains, and defining company identity.  It was also gripping knowing what I know now – that Steve Jobs would die in 2011 – that made the ending go so fast.  What would Steve, the most iconic entrepreneur of our generation, accomplish before his death?  How would his legacy live on?

Definitely worth a read

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Have You Used Your Network Recently?

Posted by Deborah Fike at 10:06 pm

It’s worth asking: when’s the last time you actively used your network?  And I don’t mean to just get what you want – to get a job, to make a deal, or to ask for an introduction.  I’m talking about really using your network to share or connect with people you know.  Someone get a job in your town?  Invite them out to dinner.  A friend lose a job?  Offer some resume and cover letter help.  Read an interesting professional article lately?  Share it with your old classmate who’s into that kind of thing.

You know, build the network.  (Photo by taylortotz101)

It always amazes me how people don’t use their network until they’re asking for something.  If you did this to your friends often enough, they won’t be your friends anymore.  No one wants someone who only shows up when they want something.  So work with your network and give back a little all the time.  You’ll get a much better return on your network when you really need the help if you’ve been taking care of it all along.

-Deborah Fike

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Life Lived as a Whole

Posted by Deborah at 2:19 pm

In times of professional and personal stress, I find myself overtly comparing myself to others. Am I as far ahead in my career? Do I have as many nice things? Have I done as many things on my bucket list? Do I have as many friends? Etc., etc.

These comparisons always fall short of any sort of meaning. Comparing pieces of my life to pieces of someone else’s is an exercise in absurdity. There is no scorecard for life where you can check off individual items and think, “Been there. Done that.” Life is lived, instead, holistically – every day adds a slight edge on what we’ve already built upon. Comparing, then, chunks of our lives to others doesn’t take into effect the things we can’t see about others – their struggles, their sense of accomplishment, their persistence, their personal relationships, their happiness.

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You Don’t Have to Love it 24/7

Posted by Deborah at 9:41 pm

This Monday morning, it was difficult to crawl out of bed.  Despite the fact that I got plenty of rest, felt physically fine, and was working within my routine, I just couldn’t find my get up ‘n’ go.  It took me a full two hours after making it to my desk to feel human again, and in those dark hours, I wondered why I even bothered when my comforting mattress waited for me.

They say when you’re an entrepreneur (or whenever you do something you’re passionate about), that you’ll love it 24/7.  That every morning you wake up the birds will sing, your mind will be aching to race back to your work, and that life becomes a working utopia.  Hooray for you for not “selling out” at some other, perhaps better paying, job.  This is your calling, and it will transform your life.

I think that’s a big pile of BS.

Even when you’re doing something you absolutely love, there will be days when throwing the alarm out the window will appeal more than getting to work.  Those singing birds will take the day off while you wish you could just have an hour, a day, or a week where you are not burdened by obligation and just relax.

This does not mean you are a failure.  It means you’re human.  It means you’re a complex human being with a variety of desires.  We strive whenever we can in our lives – at work, with family, even in play – to be engaged in healthy interactions and emotions.  But that doesn’t mean, even when life is going great, that we don’t need a break once in a while. Even from the things we love most.

So entrepreneurs, don’t despair.  It’s okay to have a bad start to the morning.  It doesn’t mean you don’t love what you’re doing right now.  It just means you’re human.

-Deborah Fike

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Building Technology that Connects

Posted by Deborah at 8:06 pm

I will admit upfront that I’m a pretty prolific Facebook user.  I find it an easy way to keep track of people I’ve met at various stages in my life – through high school in a small rural town in Idaho, to teaching English in Japan, to keeping track of my various successful MBA classmates.  Most of the people I connect to with Facebook are roughly my age – late 20s/early 30s, comfortable with technology.

But every once in a while, Facebook just amazes me.  Like last week, when I logged onto Facebook onto see that it had somehow found my great uncle and great aunt.

Birth dates: Early 1920s

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