Welcome & Opening Note by Ben Casnocha
Ben Casnocha has been obsessed with entrepreneurs since he was a young man tasked with memorizing the following poem as a class assignment.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
– “Think Different” by Apple
Growing up in San Francisco, Ben started his first business as a teenager to help local government improve their customer service efforts after a trip to a decaying Candlestick Park inspired him to try and make a difference. That e-government software company – Comcate – currently delivers CRM solutions to local governments across America.
When Ben was 18 he took some time off to travel before his business commitments and starting a family made it almost impossible. He spent the next two years traveling from China to South America and beyond. Crashing on his blog-reader’s couches taught him a huge lesson: entrepreneurial thinking isn’t limited to Silicon Valley and comes in all shapes and sizes. The reader that hosted him in Shanghai was just as flexible and risk seeking has Ben and his friends but with a focus on digital music not internet startups. Ben realized that entrepreneurship isn’t just about business: it’s a way of life. People who think like entrepreneurs see the problems around them and they do something to try and make it better.
So, how to you start thinking like an entrepreneur and ramp up your creativity while taking more risks?
Permanent BETA
A BETA is a “nearly complete prototype of a product” according to Merriam-Webster. In this fast-paced world, once you declare something finished there is no way to improve upon it and someone will pass you by.
Google kept Gmail in BETA for almost five years to remind themselves that “we’re moving to a world of rapid developmental cycles where products like Gmail continue to change indefinitely.” The idea of permanent BETA isn’t limited to Google. For the last 21 years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos closes his stockholder letter with the same statement “it’s still Day 1.”
By remaining in permanent BETA, you create momentum and motivation for change and permanent growth. In BETA, you are not finished and there is always room for improvement. Every day, Ben asks himself “Will I go to bed tonight smarter than I am right now?” Be open to possibilities by saying “not yet” instead of “no.” Be humble enough to take constructive feedback as an opportunity for growth.
Adaptation & Risk
There isn’t a crystal ball to tell you the future: the key to success it comes from adaptation. Starbucks began by selling fresh-roasted whole coffee beans and equipment before launching the new American coffeehouse tradition. Flickr wasn’t always a photo sharing site: it started a tool inside Neverending, a web-based massively multiplayer online game.
By being ready grab opportunities when they present themselves your career can adapt and you can take your next step without fearing the risks involved. Set up your Plan A for now and see what your Plan B could be. Start with an inventory of your skills and experience to see what is transferable to other careers and identify where you could pivot. Don’t change too many things at once. Also make a Plan Z for your worst case scenario – layoff, sickness, or useless skills. Can you cash out your 401K, reload as a consultant, or start over in a low-status position and rebuild your contacts?
Thinking through the scenarios and developing a plan will empower you to be more aggressive in your career since you have a plan for what may happen. Most of us imagine risk takers to be reckless adrenaline junkies jumping off a cliff without a parachute. Every opportunity contains the risk that it may fail. Intelligent risk is jumping off that cliff and building a plane on the way down.
Intelligent Network Building
In this uncertain global economy, successful people must not only be adaptable they have to build personal networks that can help them be flexible. True success doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
One of Ben’s friends in San Francisco had a new opportunity pop-up for him in Seattle. The new job would be a big step up in his career but would force him to leave his network in Silicon Valley behind. He decided to take some of the extra money he gained from the move and created an Interesting People Fund. He wouldn’t tell his network that he moved several hours away and made the pre-commitment to invest in those relationships when the opportunities arose. And when one of his network called to invite him to dinner a couple weeks later, he took some money for a plane ticket from his Interesting People Fund and showed up.
By cultivating your personal network you invest in yourself. These connections to friends and colleagues can move with you as your career changes.
Entrepreneurs see problems and they come up with solutions.
Entrepreneurs see themselves in permanent BETA and always find room for improvement.
Entrepreneurs seize opportunities when available and plan to mitigate uncertainty.
Entrepreneurs take intelligent risks despite the possibility that it might fail.
Entrepreneurs invest in their personal network with their time and talent.
For more from Ben Casnocha visit his blog at http://casnocha.com, see him on twitter @bencasnocha or pick up his book the startup of YOU.
SMPS IN @ BB2016 