The Headline Trap

Reducing barriers to entrepreneurship allows more people to feel inspired by their work. There are many common barriers to entrepreneurship. As I’ve worked with students, new entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs working inside existing companies, I’ve noticed a self-limiting ideology we can call The Headline Trap.

The Headline Trap is an emotional barrier that can subconsciously make people think their own entrepreneurial abilities don’t warrant action. It festers from the deception that business ventures must “go big” or make a bunch of cash to positively impact one’s career portfolio.

This is no surprise. Successful startup stories are celebrated loudly. These spotlights are well deserved and celebrating entrepreneurs is important, but you don’t have to build something crazy to feel the innovative energy of entrepreneurship.

Everyone has a product or new initiative they’ve thought about exploring. Yes, building a business that impacts a lot of people is absolutely possible, but we’re all invited to tinker. Side hustles, community building, volunteerism and innovative projects that intrapreneurs spark inside existing companies all represent entrepreneurial efforts that should be celebrated.

Need someone to bounce ideas off of? Let’s have coffee.

Any project you care about generates genuine energy. This energy is commonly referred to as passion. The beauty of passion is that it leads to persistence. As you find ways to create joy, you’ll savor the project longer. Even if you’re not making a profit (yet), you can still be inspired by the process. This inspiration often transcends into other areas of your career portfolio as well. In fact, sometimes an entrepreneurial venture is less about the money and more about the opportunity to collaborate with others. Working with people you enjoy being around is a treat and finding trusted partners with complimenting skill sets is the trick to make things even more interesting.

Extra Shot

Building a business with less concern about revenue can provide a sense of peace, but beware, the luxury of not needing something to work can lead to crippling procrastination. Maintain transparency with everyone’s commitment levels to avoid tension.

Even when a project is only a tiny sliver of your career portfolio (we’ll talk more about managing your career portfolio next week), curiosity is being triggered. Not everyone will identify these actions as entrepreneurial, but innovative energy is being activated. Whether a project works or not, the entrepreneurial spirit gets bolder with time and often leads to more innovative initiatives in the future.

This type of personal growth also creates expanded interest in the startup and small business community. At the community level, entrepreneurial ecosystem builders can help people avoid The Headline Trap by recognizing, encouraging and celebrating projects that don’t make the news. This benefits everyone when more passionate people are invited to plug in. As more curious people are connected throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem, take the opportunity to be radically inclusive to fuel a more diverse, flexible and sustainable environment.

Happy New Year

I spent 2020 writing my first book!

You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era is for caffeinated entrepreneurs who are interested in starting or continuing to build their own business.

This book is brewed to be fun, but will leave a lasting impact as well. The ideation process, the value of community, how to research business ideas, building a team, testing the concept, marketing, sales and how to effectively grow a company are all discussed. I’m also excited about guest contributions from two iconic thought leaders as well. More on that soon! For now, know that the publisher’s release date is SPRING 2021 and pre-orders will start a few weeks before we ship. This book means the world to me and is written just for us, so stay tuned my friends!

To celebrate, I am embarking on a new literary odyssey in 2021 and you’re invited to join me as we continue to learn and build together. My weekly blog will pair with the book and will live right here on this expanded website. Expect caffeinated conversations on entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystem building, technology, marketing, personal updates, blasts from the past and guest articles sprinkled into what will become a collection dedicated to the unmatched energy of accelerating others.

This consistent cadence will be challenging and your support helps fuel momentum. If you’d like to collaborate together or if you’d like me to riff on something specific, I’d love to hear those ideas as well. You can send me an email anytime or subscribe here to receive a friendly jolt of innovative energy delivered with your coffee every Wednesday morning. Cheers!

Caffeinated Conversations

Welcome to my expanded website!

I’ve learned so much through my own entrepreneurial ventures and have been inspired by thousands of fellow founders nationwide. I spent 2020 working to synthesize a comprehensive, yet approachable narrative focused on entrepreneurship in this connected era. You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship In The Connected Era is my new book that includes everything I know about entrepreneurship, refined as innovative energy for caffeinated entrepreneurs. This book means the world to me and in 2021, I’m pairing it with a weekly blog called Roasted Reflections. This website is a new home for all my energized ruminations.

Another reason this website has been expanded, is to accelerate my work as an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. Since 2012, I’ve been professionally collaborating with community builders who are passionate about educating entrepreneurs and evolving their entrepreneurial ecosystems. If your organization is ready to revitalize the entrepreneurial spirit in your community, let’s connect to fuel the future of your community-driven economy.

What’s next?

Starting January 1st, I’ll be sharing a weekly reflection right here on this website. If you’d like to have these friendly knowledge grenades lobbed into your inbox, subscribe to receive Roasted Reflections every Wednesday morning. Either way, I’m glad we’re connected. I’m truly blessed to have remarkable people like you in my life and would love to hear from you anytime. Cheers!