Episode 104 - Sliced Tomatoes

There's a Netflix series that I am enjoying entitled, "Better Call Saul." It's about a scummy low-life ambulance-chasing Albuquerque lawyer named Jimmy McGill. Spoiler alert - in one episode, McGill becomes a minor celebrity when he rescues a man hanging from a billboard.

At the U.S.. Military Academy in West Point, New York, all cadets learn many valuable lessons about life. One in particular seems extra important in this day and age. When something goes wrong - anything at all - cadet is expected to state to a superior officer, "It was my mistake, Sir, and I take full and total responsibility."

Toby founded a small construction company that does quality commercial work. While his company's growth has been extraordinary, he is concerned that it doesn't feel like he's "broken out" yet. And his biggest worry is that he doesn't see how he's going to achieve the scale that he desires.

I am part of a group of investors that formed a funding platform for early stage companies. Some might call us angel investors. We look at a lot of start-up companies and evaluate their founders and product or service ideas. Over the years we've identified a number of founder attributes that are needed for entrepreneurial success in the start-up-world. 

Here are 13 concepts by which I live. They are my guideposts and serve as an Entrepreneur's Primer. They've worked well for me and I'd like to share them with you.

Entrepreneurship can be a very stressful proposition. We're trying to build our businesses and encounter countless challenges along the way. Cutthroat competition, product design issues, labor shortages, cash flow problems, slow sales, shipping snafus, government regulations, incredibly tight deadlines, lack of sleep and a host of other struggles. 

Every entrepreneur understands how critical it is to take care of the customer - that's old hat. We know that unhappy customers will cause our businesses to suffer. This fact has been magnified by social media and how a few damaging reviews can really cause severe and long-term problems. 

I'm not recording this podcast to be judgmental. I'm really not. However, there are some subjects that cannot be discussed without sounding judgmental. So here goes. Let's look at the topic of (gasp!) cheating. 

I listened to a fascinating business podcast the other day. The host was interviewing an entrepreneur who apparently has faced a number of challenges throughout her career. What struck me the most was her statement that she has a "chip on her shoulder." 

The news lately has been pretty grim in many respects. So many headlines were focused on bad things people are doing. There were sexual assault scandals, charges of racism, political mudslinging, competitive misdeeds and a host of other negative events. It seems like many of our citizens were committed to tearing down their fellow man.