Forward
The goal of this book is to guide you on your way to determining what you want and what kind of business you want to create.
If you are looking to start the next Google, the next Facebook, or some other similar company, you probably won’t gain a ton of value from this book. What you might find, however, is a way to grow a business that allows you to make the decision of when, or if you quit your job, enabling you to build a better life.
As you read, you might start wondering what drove me to write this. Well, when you hate your boss, but the job pays well, you feel like you don’t have control. Ever been there? I know I have. (O, and in case my current boss is reading this -- for the record, my current bosses are amazing)
Eventually, you get to the point where you have to find a way to gain control of your life. Enter this book. With some luck, you will find a way to feel free from a bad boss, and free to walk away if you ever need to – without worrying about where your next paycheck is coming from. If all goes well, you’ll become your own boss and your own income generator. Some people call this making sure you have your “F you” money. I view this as a way to free yourself, but more importantly, to keep your soul alive for those days when you hate what you do. They have happened to all of us, after all.
There is something else about this book that you should know. It is much more about you, then about a startup. While you might feel that this book title is a bit misleading, having consulted for many start up companies, it isn’t the idea that fails a startup. It’s the person. Yes – YOU. You will be the reason any start up business you create is successful or fails. That is why much of this book focus’ on your development before we ever touch the key foundational aspects to consider when you are choosing and building your company.
PART I – The Part-Time Startup: Building Your Business
The Beginning
What am I passionate about? That was the question I kept returning to when I first started thinking about writing.
I thought about what I often ended up coaching and mentoring on, and I thought about my own accomplishments. When you’ve managed to earn as much outside of an impressive career as you have within that career, you realize that maybe that is a topic that people want to learn about! Maybe about how you’ve managed to build a business that can allow you to walk away from any job, and still feel financially unconcerned – all done by the time you were 30.
I realized I’ve been successful at ensuring that when I work for a company, they’re not my only source of income. As a result, I’ve had the freedom to make decisions and take actions without having to fear what my bosses think or, worst case, without the fear of potentially losing my job. This freedom is empowering. It lets me think clearly, strategically, and fearlessly.
One of the things you’ll be thinking about when you start reading this book is making more money. That's one reason to read, and, of course, a pretty good one. Learning how to balance building a business while maintaining the safety and security of your career is another reason.
Personally, one thing I always want to prevent is growing fearful of getting fired from my job - of losing that stream of income.
That source of income represents a sense of security and peace of mind. My goal is that you, the reader, will walk away feeling that you have the ability to take ownership, take control, and make sure that you walk away truly in control of your destiny.
This is a book designed for people to really understand how important their choices are, in everything they do. When we think about what's going to make us successful, every choice we make has the potential to make or break that success.
Furthermore, it’s crucial to recognize that while choice is important, both action and non-action are equally critical. Do your actions and the choices you make stem from a true understanding of what decisions you are making? What planning did you put in place? What did you do for pre-work? What did you come prepared for? These are questions we’ll learn to continually ask. Let’s take a page out of the book “The Art of War” – the victorious warriors win first, then they go to war.
In this book, we're going to go through a whole bunch of different topics. At the end of the day, you’ll likely love it or hate it. For my sake, if you hate it, I hope that it still occasionally makes you laugh. As we go through the chapters, you might find yourself grinning and thinking, Huh, this book is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yes, I put a picture of Sliced Bread.
Maybe you’ll laugh. More than likely, you might find yourself saying, “Holy shit, that arrogant prick is clearly from the northeast and doesn't get anything or anyone outside himself or his circle. I wasted money on this?” Okay, so perhaps that’s an extreme reaction. But I believe in covering all possibilities. Jokes can only do so much work after all. My hope is that you'll both like and learn from this reading experience. Let's start from the beginning.