Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I know there`s a lot of talk around here about realistic expectations of income and growth when launching a web company ...

I read this article today and thought it was another good example of knowing what to expect and how much work a web company really is:
How to Take Your Small Business Past the First Level

Enjoy!

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Our Goal Is Your Success!
Founder Girls with Goals

This whole topic fascinates me because it links in with some books I`m reading on education and reality.

From what I`m seeing, we`ve had about 60 years of "new" education, a lot of it coming from Baby Boomers who wished life could be a hippie commune. They quickly found their ideas would fail in the real world, so they went into education. The thinking was that if they could get to little children, teach them the wonders of "whole worldness," then they could change society.

Now, a lot of generations later, they`ve succeeded. They`ve taught entire generations of children (who now are out in the world attempting to live in reality) that everything will always be perfect for them. Everything comes to those who do nothing because everyone is perfect just the way they are.

They`ve taught class after class after class that wishing something were true is the same as it being true. It doesn`t matter what reality actually means, it only matters how we feel about it.

The result is a sort of instant-gratification-on-steroids.

It`s an excellent article, Nikole, but I wonder if it`ll matter much in the scheme of things. I`m thinking of a community member a while back who`d been laid off from an executive job. The posting involved a desire to set up an online business, but with a requirement that they should be earning $100,000/year within the first 6 months.

Ayn Rand always would say that in any irreconcilable difference of opinion, reality will arbitrate. We now have millions of people who grew up believing that their opinion is fundamentally all that`s necessary to determin reality. When reality contradicts them, they desperately cast around for a person to blame.

I think you`re way overreaching ... the reality is that there`s many people on the internet selling "get rich quick schemes" and a lot of people buy into that ... but in reality, there is no get rich quick scheme because it all involves hard work and a lot of time.

You`ve done a really good job lumping all baby boomers, and then everyone under 45 into the same category though.

:-) That`s my job. I`m a Lumper, working towards Executive Lump.

Thank you as always.   Great article.  It is hard to believe that somebody actually bought this book, didn`t read it, and couldn`t believe they were not making any money. 

I needed to read this as I am close to launch.  I love the analogies to spending money on a college degree, starting your career at the lowest level, and then working your way up the ladder.   It is a time and money investment.   I will keep repeating this.    time, money, time money, hard work,

I guess starting out in the music business made all this sort of self-evident. I can`t think of anyone who picks up a guitar or piano, plays for a couple of months, then joins a band and expects to be doing national concerts by the end of the year.

There`s an old expression: Paying your dues.

It doesn`t at all mean an investment of money. It means that until you`ve both learned the ropes AND gained some experience, you not only won`t be able to proceed, many people in the given industry won`t allow you to proceed. In a very broad way, it`s like trying to cut to the front of a line.

In this case, it isn`t the amount of time waiting in line that matters. It`s the working through of a massively complex process. Most of that process involves organizing an open market into accepting then demanding a product.

By way of exaggeration; even a person starting out in a career of being a dope dealer doesn`t jump from selling a gram of weed to closing a multi-million dollar deal. :-)