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MenuI'm a bit bored with my life and my routine - how can I make things interesting?
I'm building a new startup (have had success before) and love it, but we are a remote team so I can work from anywhere.
The problem is that my routine is fairly robotic and a bit boring. I can work from/live anywhere in the world, etc.
Just after some advice/suggestions to make things more fun/interesting?
Answers
It’s easy to get bored when we feel stuck in a routine, same old habits, going about our lives on autopilot. To break out of that routine, we don’t always have to take huge leaps. One small step can be enough, doing one little thing a bit differently. Try taking a different route to work, going to a different coffee shop, trying something new on the menu. Or why not join a meetup group, try African drumming, go on a camping trip, or go along to a meditation session? Personally, I’m doing one new challenge a month!
At the macro level, travel is absolutely a way to mix things up. Initially when I quit my full-time job, I got big contracts and then travelled in between. Now, I’m experimenting with working and travelling at the same time, spending a month in each place - currently in San Francisco, next month in Honolulu… I’m going to want to have a base with a bit more stability soon but in the meantime I’m enjoying myself, while making progress on all three of my businesses!
Definitely give strong consideration to extended travel. I've been a full-time traveler's while working remotely since the end of last year, and it's been incredible. I've found that my productivity is higher (both in writing and development), and I haven't been bored in months.
Plus, it's cheaper. I built a calculator to compare costs of living here: http://lengstorf.com/cost-of-living/
If you've got the freedom, and you've got any interest in travel, you won't regret it.
I'm happy to talk to you about the steps I went through and to help with any questions you might have. Let me know.
Good luck!
Pick the thing that scares you most and give it a try. If you do not get outside your comfort zone you will become bored no matter where you move. I suggest getting out from under your normal routine and trying something completely unrelated from your business. New adventures will open your eyes, provide new experiences and ultimately allow you to gain a different perspective on how you approach life and business.
I think it's time to stir things up and really find out what's going to ignite what's next. I've been through a couple of reinventions now, always with remote teams, and find that without knowing all the compartments of life I wanted to fulfill, it was hard to create a clear path. As I now do this for others from Harvard students to CEOs, would be happy to help.
What are you passionate about? I coach people on getting into their groove again. Being flexible can be a great thing and it also can cause major issues. People are driven by many different things and these things all have an impact on one's life. A balanced body, mind, and spirit allows for great growth in all areas of life. I would love to discuss the ways in which I help people develop these other passions for success.
Sounds like after the thrill of a new venture (building a new startup), life returns to the normal day-to-day. I totally get it. There is nothing like the rush that comes with forging new territory. It's exciting. Like a roller coaster ride, it has thrills and chills.
There is a saying, "Where ever you are, there you will be." So no matter where you move, you will be taking yourself with you. In what ways are you not challenging yourself to grow beyond building new startups? Is there a way you can delegate some of the more routine tasks to someone on your team who enjoys predictability?
I, like many, can be a creature of habit. I can work from my home-based business all day long and not go outside my front door; but at the end of the day, I've missed the beautiful fall weather, the sun on my face and the energy I draw from it.
Find out what is your energy source and integrate it into the way you do your work. For me, it is getting dressed and going outside my normal place of work. For others, it's streaming in new music or setting up their laptop at Starbucks. Find your energizer and plug in!
To keep you accountable to doing just that, contact me for a free consultation. I'd love to help you in moving forward.
Enroll in a MOOC like Coursera, Udacity, EdX, etc. and learn something new.
I worked for many years in a cubicle environment and the same old routines. What I've found is that it's not necessarily how you spend your time each day, but - who you spend your time with - each day that can make all the difference in boredom or trying to feel fulfilled each day. Try thinking about people in your life that care about you the most. Why do they make you feel this way? If you can focus on those people and discover new ones that make you happy, routines tend to change on their own. I've tried so many different hobbies and daily routines over the years and found that life is about building strong relationships with people and sharing experiences with them and less about figuring how to be less bored.
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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How has Uber grown so fast?
Obviously, they do the fundamentals well. Good brand. Good experience. Good word of mouth. Good PR. Etc. Etc. But after my interview with Ryan Graves, the head of Global Operations at Uber (https://www.growthhacker.tv/ryan-graves), it became clear that they are operationally advanced and this is a huge part of their success. I'll explain. Uber isn't just a single startup, it's essentially dozens of startups rolled into one because every time they enter a new city they have to establish themselves from essentially nothing (except whatever brand equity has reached the city ahead of them). This means finding/training drivers, marketing to consumers, and building out local staff to manage operations for that city. This is where Ryan Graves comes in. He has a protocol of everything that must be done, and in what order, and by who, to ensure the best chance of success in a new city. So how has Uber grown so fast? Essentially, they figured out how to grow in one locale and were relentless about refining their launch process to recreate that initial success over and over in new cities. No plan works for every city, and they've had to adapt in many situations, but it is still a driving factor for their success.BT
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How was SnapChat able to grow so quickly?
I'm answering your question assuming that you hope to be able to replicate it's own success in your own mobile app. There are a couple of factors responsible for it's growth that are instructive to anyone building a mobile app. "Leveraging the intimacy and privacy of the mobile phone." We now have an *intimate* relationship with our phone like no other device in the history of technology. Every internet company that started before around 2010 has built their core interactions around "the old web" one which was accessed primarily via a browser on a computer. Companies that start with a clean slate, should be building their interactions around how to do whatever the app is supposed to do while leveraging what is unique to people's relationship to their mobile devices. Photo-sharing has become a core part of the way we communicate now. Snapchat built something that provided an experience that leveraged the feeling of privacy and intimacy that is unique to mobile. "Provided an escape from the "maturity" of other online services." Too many parents, aunts, uncles and other "old people" have encroached into the social networks of teens and young people. As a result, they've had a desire to find places to express themselves in places inaccessible by older generations. An important distinction is that it's not just parents and relatives that young people are trying to avoid, but also employers & colleges who are increasingly using "mature" social networks to review applicants. "Leveraged PR even bad PR" The fact that the app got so much press about it being used to sext was perfect PR for the company, as it essentially reinforced the brand experience that it has today. Essentially, "if it's safe enough to send a sext, it's safe for any kind of communication I want to have." And although the safety and security of Snapchat is actually not as advertised, it still enjoys the reputation of having less impact than any primarily web-based service. Building a successful mobile application is one of the hardest challenges to face designers, programmers and entrepreneurs in the history of writing software. Happy to talk to you if you're considering building a mobile app, about what I've learned about the "table stakes" for success.TW
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Business partner I want to bring on will invest more money than me, but will be less involved in operations, how do I split the company?
Cash money should be treated separately than sweat equity. There are practical reasons for this namely that sweat equity should always be granted in conjunction with a vesting agreement (standard in tech is 4 year but in other sectors, 3 is often the standard) but that cash money should not be subjected to vesting. Typically, if you're at the idea stage, the valuation of the actual cash going in (again for software) is anywhere between $300,000 and $1m (pre-money). If you're operating in any other type of industry, valuations would be much lower at the earliest stage. The best way to calculate sweat equity (in my experience) is to use this calculator as a guide: http://foundrs.com/. If you message me privately (via Clarity) with some more info on what the business is, I can tell you whether I would be helpful to you in a call.TW
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Whats the best way to find commission sales reps?
This is not my specialty, however, I have been in your position many many times -- maybe this will help. If the product is in-tangible, then look for JV partners on the Internet. Try to find an expert that deals with these JV opportunities (like me). If the product is physical, then look for sales organizations that have networks of sales people across the country. You do the deal with the organization and the independent network of sales people sells your product. It's a sweet setup if you can negotiate a margin that works for everyone. Hope that helps - Cheers - NickNP
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