If you think successful entrepreneurship does not come with a price tag, think once again. Then, another time after that. At an early age, I feel hardened. I joke a lot with my friends.
However, when it comes to business, I feel that I don't smile as much as I would if I were an employee.
Being successful is arduous. Being successful is stressful. If you want to be successful at a young age not only read, but come to terms that this is the mentality that a young entrepreneur needs.
- If You're A Rattlesnake, Nobody Pokes You With A Stick
It was about a year and a half ago. I had 3 employees working from my apartment on the Upper East Side. It was a little embarrassing because I run a staffing firm and we would occasionally have candidates come to the "office."
That is, until somebody claiming they were competition sent me a nasty email regarding not having an office. With 48hours, I signed a two-year, $70,000 lease. I could not sleep. I worked and learned out of anger, out of spite for two days straight.
I consider myself a rattlesnake. If you try to whack me with a stick, I bite like a s.o.b. If I want something, I work so hard for it that being on the other team means that you're going to put in 18hour days.
If it sounds harsh, than it does. I can't apologize for my style, but the other firms in my space now know better. Nobody is dumb enough to get bitten twice.
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- Once You're Able To Recruit Them, Treat Your Employees Like Family
Any entrepreneur or, for that matter large corporate entity lives by effective, loyal employees and dies by turnovers. Unhappy employees are easy to get because they are cheap and they screw up a business.
Happy employees are so hard to find and procure because they are expense and make a business.
I had to recruit employees from an apartment. This was not easy. The first few took a chance on me and for that, I owe them everything.
Management for many entrepreneurs is tough. For me, at first it was damn near impossible. I had a lot to growing up to do. Management takes patience, it takes learning, it takes caring and it takes energy.
Jack Welch put it best when said that before you are a leader, you spend time growing yourself, then when you become one, you spend that time growing others.
As a young entrepreneur know that your employees are the future of the company. Care about them. They are ones next standing next to you in the trenches and the moment you forget that, you're in for a very gloomy day.
- Ethics...Have Them and Stand For Something
At the age of 29, you don't get to own your own business by not making mistakes. I have been called everything in the book except unethical. At the end of the day of the day, you have you word and that is all you have.
I have had clients, vendors and others that I've come across display despicable ethics and dealing with them is tough, but you don't back down. When someone acts in an unethical manner, tries not to pay you (and they will), you call them on it and fight to get whatever they owe you.
I recently had to collect over $12,000 from clients overseas that were not paying. Yes. It's a pain, but as a young entrepreneur you learn that not everybody acts with the utmost integrity. It's a part of life and it's a part of business.
Say what you want, but you can't call me "unethical."
Ken runs KAS San Francisco Sales Recruiters San Francisco Headhunters Marketing Recruitment SF a staffing agency started in 2005 helping job seekers throughout the U.S. including Staffing Agencies NYC Executive Search Firms New York Headhunters Sales and Marketing