Fans were fuming after trying to get tickets for Kraftwerk's New York City shows at MoMA. Here's how the CEO behind ShowClix's debacle handled customer outrage.

Kraftwerk, the German electronic band that once topped charts with hits "Computer Love" and "Autobahn," recently announced they would play eight nights at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in April, the first time in 17 years the band has visited The Big Apple.

But when the tickets went on sale this week, the band—and the company facilitating the online ticket sales, ShowClix—faced their worst nightmare. ShowClix, the small ticketing company based in Pittsburgh, didn't anticipate heavy demand for tickets, so when the thousands of eager fans logged on to buy tickets, the company's servers caved. As desperate fans input their credit card information, most were left on a seemingly interminable online queue that, after almost an hour, eventually timed out.

Around mid-day Wednesday, when the tickets went on sale (well, sort of), the band's name was trending on Twitter, mostly due to outraged fans venting their frustrations.

"Which level of hell is this," tweeted one fan. "There are seven [rings of hell], but there are eight nights of #kraftwerk."

The Village Voice chroniciled the debacle yesterday, publishing its official "Guide To The Five Stages Of Ticketing Grief In 2012." The New York Post decried the ticketing company, saying fans were "freaking out" over the ShowClix's error, and even an Australian blog, Inthemix.com, chimed in, saying the snafu left "NYC fans raging."

But the problem with the sales was simple—you don't need to be an economist to understand why this happened. MoMA's venue capacity, which is limited to the "intimate" atrium in the center of the building, is listed at 1,000. Even over eight nights, that's a mere 8,000 tickets. In the end, all tickets were sold, but just 1.2 percent of the prospective buyers ever saw a "Thank You" screen.

Fingers were pointed in every direction.

"I blame Kraftwerk," commented one fan. "If they only do eight gigs in New York in 17 years, they're creating a huge imbalance between supply and demand. That's a recipe for rampant inflation, not to mention systematic corruption. Hence the $42,000 tickets for sale on Craigslist."

Iniitially, the online ticketing agent responsible for the sale, ShowClix, was silent. (The company founder, Joshua Dziabiak, is an alumnus of Inc.com's 30 Under 30.)

But in the end, ShowClix owned up to the mistake. While some companies use social media to apologize, Dziabiak went old school, penning a 659-word apology on the company's site.

"Ultimately, we failed many of you," wrote Joshua Dziabiak, the 25-year-old ShowClix CEO.

He continued:

"Sorry it took me a day to write this, but it was important for me to first understand all of the facts so they could be properly communicated. First and foremost, we are deeply sorry for the frustration and massive inconvenience that yesterday's on-sale for Kraftwerk caused for many of their great fans around the world. I recognize that so many of you spent hours in front of your computer watching a spinning wheel--or watching the page go blank….

We should have both of these problems resolved by the end of this week. However, even with these problems resolved, it is my belief moving forward that we should not perform an on-sale all at once for an event or venue that has such small capacity restrictions versus potential demand. Instead, we will advise our clients on various alternative methods to fairly sell tickets to an event that has such a small fraction of inventory available versus the potential demand."

Back in 2010, when Dziabiak was just 23, ShowClix already had 17 employees and about $8 million in company revenue.

"We're really trying to position ourselves as the fair, innovative alternative to Ticketmaster," Dziabiak told the magazine then.

Anyone? Anyone? A new survey suggests the allure of C-suite positions has washed away. What's cool in 2012? You guessed it: entrepreneurship.

Survey a decent number of people and at least a few of them will probably say most anything—even the utterly outrageous. After all, nearly 20 percent of Americans tell pollsters that the sun revolves around the earth and about an equal percentage admit to believing in witches. So to call up thousands of people and find not a single one willing to agree to a proposition is pretty unusual. But one poll recently managed it.

What did the survey ask? When virtual-office company Intelligent Office recently queried more than 1,000 Americans about their career ambitions, exactly no one said they wanted to be a corporate executive. Not one. Entrepreneurship, however, was an amazingly popular dream. "Nearly 65 percent of survey participants desire to work as an entrepreneur or independent," according to the survey release.

This result comes on top of other recent findings that reveal the popularity of entrepreneurship among 20-somethings. The increasing attraction of the start-up lifestyle for young people has been put down to the rotten job market they're facing, as well as the example of stratospherically successful young entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg. Experts have also noted that many once "safe" career paths have become far riskier, making starting a business less of a risk and more attractive in comparison. But the Intelligent Office survey suggests that much of the appeal of being a business owner may be less generation specific.

Intelligent Office found that 61 percent of respondents desire more flexible work hours than the traditional nine to five and "overwhelmingly, people aspire to have more mobility in their work life." This suggests that, whatever a person's age, one of the primary drivers of entrepreneurial dreams is a wish to escape the confining dictates of traditional corporate environments, as well as the fading allure of the traditional, all-consuming power career. (Plus, the recent recession can't have improved the reputation of America's corporate elite.) The importance of culture and lifestyle to career ambitions was underlined recently by author Alexandra Levit on her blog Water Cooler Wisdom:

I see it every day. Employees at all levels—especially women—are stepping away from positions that will pay them the highest salary, and moving into ones that provide them a better quality of life.

A friend of mine, Lucy, was a talented fifth-year associate at a Top 5 law firm in Manhattan. She made so much money that her husband didn't have to work, ever. But just as her partner was getting ready to buy a new set of golf clubs, Lucy quit. She went to work as internal legal counsel for a company that manufactures environmentally-friendly home products. Lucy makes $100k less in this new position, but her office is sunny and collaborative and her colleagues respect her personal time. She loves it.

The title of Levit's post? "Good Culture Is In, Inflated Salaries Are Out." Being an entrepreneur—despite the risks, hard work and uncertain monetary rewards—represents autonomy and a less kafkaesque work culture than what often predominates in the traditional corporate world. Looking at the Intelligent Office survey and Levit's post, that seems to be in. Being a corporate executive seems most definitely to be out.

Do you agree that the allure of being in the C-suite is fading? Will it return?

Fellow entrepreneurs told me that going out on my own had its benefits, but once I took the leap I discovered even more unique perks that no one had prepared me for.

While us entrepreneurs definitely experience our share of hard knocks. Sometimes running a business can be downright hellish. But everyone in Corporate America has also heard about the benefits of working for yourself--a flexible schedule, no red tape, the freedom to follow your passion, and answering to yourself. They're all true.

And once I actually took the leap, I happily discovered even more fantastic benefits that I had no idea about. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Mini vacations tacked on to business travel. Running an international business allows me to travel to business meetings all over the world. But my destinations usually sound a lot sexier than my actual schedule, which includes long, exhausting flights, meeting after meeting, and then more long, exhausting flights! While there is no way to avoid this grind completely, I have deliberately made an effort to tack on at least one day to explore and enjoy the cities I visit whenever possible. A full vacation would clearly be preferable, but rather than sacrificing the perfect for the good, I've learned to schedule and cherish these mini-versions.

2. Quality time with family. One of the most daunting things about running a business is the sheer lack of time you get to devote to yourself and your family. However, now that the quantity of time I spend with my family has dwindled, I find that I use the little time that I do have much more deliberately. Whether it's dates with my husband, play time with my kids, or brunch with my sister, I am much more in the moment. I could stress out about the fact that I have only 45 minutes before my next business meeting starts. But instead, I've taught myself to cherish these precious moments and use them to get even closer to my family.

3. The true comforts of airport lounges. Airport lounges are known for their free drinks and snacks, business centers, Wi-Fi, and quiet and comfortable environment. But lounge access can be even more of a goldmine for us small business owners. For instance, in order to keep costs down and put my kids to bed as many nights as possible, I try to schedule back-to-back meetings and minimize overnight stays. Being able to shower in a well equipped lounge bathroom has allowed me to be alert and fresh in essential meetings, even if they are scheduled immediately after a long flight. And learning that most airlines grant access to their partner airlines’ lounges has been a great find and expanded my access to such comforts.

4. The joy of dealing directly with decision makers. When I was still working in traditional corporate jobs, I frequently longed to speak directly to the movers and shakers rather than wasting time navigating the hierarchy. I just knew that things would be more efficient and effective if I simply had regular access to the people who ultimately made the decisions. And don't get me wrong--generally, that's true. But I've also discovered another great thing about having access to the people at the top--they tend to be amazingly interesting people. They have usually leveraged their business success to dive deep into all types of fascinating hobbies and interests that give me another perspective on exactly how they are so successful.

I love leading a small, international business, and the adage about membership having its privileges has held true. While there are of course many unique challenges that must be tackled, I have certainly enjoyed discovering the unexpected pleasures of business ownership as well.

Weekly Wine Tip: If you're seeking the ultimate indulgence in wine, then check out Chocovine: a Cabernet Sauvignon subtly blended with rich dark chocolate from to create a decadent, silky smooth sipper or to pour over ice cream. Simply wonderful!

When building our board, we cast a wide net. We ended up with a diverse group of people perfectly in tune with our company's ethos. Here's how you can too.

Sometimes it really does pay to play the field before settling down. To see what's out there, who you click with, and which relationships prove the most beneficial. And ditch the idea of a "type." When it comes to relations with advisors—just as in love—we've found you'll only limit your opportunities that way. It's far better to spread a wide net.

Look around the table at a Blu advisory board meeting and what you'll see is the result of our own "dating" process. It's comprised of died-in-the-wool environmentalists, technology experts, educators, and business people. Our board reflects a lot of the same qualities a college admissions officer seeks in an applicant: well rounded, passionate, and dedicated. Above all, we set out to create a diverse group made up of people who are in tune with our company's ethos. So we shopped around.

Faced with the question of how to set about identifying and wooing people who will make a real difference on our board, we worked to establish relationships first. We dated around before committing, inviting prospective members to get an inside look at what we do, to visit our factory, to meet our team. We thought carefully about benefits, formalizing the process of joining the advisory board, and emphasizing the deep involvement we were looking for from every member. And then it was time to make the first move—to ask some of these smart, energetic people to give us a try.

We did not ask all those with whom we built successful relationships to join us, however. We all know that not every partnership that has that "spark" can go the distance. Keeping in mind our mission to build a diverse and vibrant group, we extended invitations only to those we deemed a truly great fit.

But finding the right match is really only the beginning. You could select the perfect mix of advisors, but if the relationship isn't nurtured—in big and small ways—you're doing yourself, and your board, a disservice.

The key to long lasting board relationships? No surprise here. Communication.

Most people "get" the formal side of communicating with their board members. Board meetings, quarterly e-mails and the periodic snail mail communication, are of course invaluable. But the real key is consistency.

But like many young companies, we did not at first recognize a vital truth: that fostering a deep and continual feeling of involvement in the workings of the company is crucial to the success of the board (and, in turn, of the company). Once we started going beyond just sharing periodic, polished, “board-ready” materials with our advisors, and began including them in Blu's everyday successes we saw a more active and engaged group emerge.

It really can be the little things that matter. For example, now when we ring our office's "sale bell," signaling that a Blu Home has been sold, our advisors get a call, too. And thanks to the easy and genuine efforts of our CEO—for whom it is second nature to pick up the phone in a free moment to talk to one of our advisors about a possible sale, an upcoming event, or other goings-on around the company—our advisors are well aware that we care about and value them and their role.

Nurturing relationships this way creates a group of people who are not advisors in ceremonial name only, but who are trusted members of the company with a stake in its success. In other words, true partners.

Regardless of communication, some partners are naturally more active than others. At times we find our board operates on the 80/20 rule, with 20 percent of the members providing 80 percent of the relevant help for the company. But it is deeply gratifying to see the most active advisors take the company's mission on as their own, truly becoming champions for Blu.

The original hope was that innovation and collaboration would grow more easily from the diverse mix of passionate personalities and perspectives we had put together. But the payoffs have been farther-reaching than we ever could have anticipated. Eschewing a board comprised of 100 percent hardcore "business" people in favor of a more "liberal-arts" approach, has lead to juicy and unexpected benefits, including new market opportunities and connections to funding.

One of our board members, selected for both his environmental expertise and his deep commitment to our mission, brought with him connections to regional conservation groups, which are looking toward judicious green development. A market opportunity was born. This taught us that choosing unique advisors who care about your company can make your business aware of and well positioned for valuable new business opportunities.

Similarly, we have seen again and again that the people who want to invest with and help grow a company are not only the top venture capitalists you might imagine, but also those who are connected to the "soul" of the company. When you reach out for dedicated advisors who are not necessarily contacts for investment, links to huge funding possibilities can be a happy—if surprising—byproduct. Take the expert in environmental policy and business that we pursued for his innovative ideas, who serendipitously pointed us to an opportunity for investment from a source we'd not known anything about (a personal connection of his). When an advisory board member feels deeply attached to the mission and ideals of a company and in turn brings this enthusiasm to his or her own network, the rewards can be huge.

To us, an effective board of advisors is an eclectic one that is allowed to share in the excitement of the growing company. In organizations that are fast finding their niche and picking up steam, the milestones along the way are opportunities for connecting and celebrating with the people you've chosen to bring into the company's most trusted inner circle. And in return, they will pay you back with ideas and enthusiasm that might move your company forward in astonishing, unforeseen ways.

Legal matters may be daunting for the inexperienced, but that's no excuse for failing to make sure your venture is on the right side of the law, warns Rocket Lawyer founder Charley Moore.

Entrepreneurs may have to wear many hats, but there's one area that can be particularly daunting to the inexperienced—the law. Even those who feel comfortable playing the role of newbie manager and DIY PR person may feel more than a little overwhelmed when it comes time to enter the jargon-filled, formal, and outsider-unfriendly realm of legal matters.

But lawyer Charley Moore, founder of online legal services provider Rocket Lawyer, has a message for dithering legal newbs who are using their lack of knowledge or time as an excuse to put off getting their company's legal situation sorted—get over it! Moore explained in an interview that his company, which sorts out routine legal paperwork for business owners (and is beloved by VCs), was founded with entrepreneurs who have more interest in, say, their outstanding cupcake recipe than the fine print of their contracts. Moore offered a word of warning for this sort of legal knowledge-limited business owner:

The genius of our American system is the protections that we afford to people who start businesses, everything from limited liability if you incorporate to bankruptcy if you fail so you can dust yourself off and start over again. That is really core to what has driven growth in the American economy, and you're nuts as a person going into business to operate outside of that amazing legal system that, with a little bit of work, you can put on your side and make a competitive advantage.

Just sticking with the easy route of operating as a sole proprietor and relying on agreements you've rigged up with a bit of glue may sound tempting, especially when your business is small and your schedule is insane, but Moore feels this is one of entrepreneurs' most common mistakes.

"The thing that folks mess up the most on is operating as a sole proprietorship," he says. "When you're a sole proprietor, in terms of your business, you're outside of the legal system, so you're not taking advantage of those wonderful rights and American corporate law." Instead, Moore urges owners of new ventures to take a careful look at their businesses and make a thoughtful legal plan, offering his company's free legal check up as a good place to get started.

"There's no set of things that's 'one size fits all' in the law," Moore says, "so it's really identifying what kind of business you are and then starting to put a legal plan together. For example, are you a services business? In that case, what sort of services are you going to perform and what are the risks? Am I selling products, in which case I may have product liability issues? Am I a reseller? What sort of resale agreements should I have?"

Breaking your inertia and getting started may be the most pressing challenge, but Moore stresses that tending to legal matters as your business grows and changes is also essential, offering seven rules to "bulletproof" your business:

• Build on the Right Foundation
• Comply with the Law
• Protect What’s Yours
• Be a Smart Employer
• Maintain Enough Insurance
• Record Everything in Writing
• Keep Good Counsel

If you're unsure what these rules mean for you or would just like more info, free registration at SCORE will give you access to a one-hour webinar where Moore lays out in detail what he means by each.

So, you're smart. But stop it already with the inflated vocabulary. To make the biggest impact, take a cue from the simplicity of Apple's branding and ditch the big words.

"I'm Bill Gates. Takes a genius to understand me."
—Rapper Flo Rida in Good Feeling

I hear that song on the radio and cringe. Flo Rida's lyrics suggest it's a good thing that it takes a genius to understand him—that complexity makes him, in fact, a genius. In reality, the opposite is true: It takes a genius to be able to communicate in a way that is understood by absolutely everyone and anyone. This inversion is one of the most important things for a creator to understand.

This was the core finding of a 2006 study by Princeton professor Daniel M. Oppenheimer, wittily entitled "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly." Of the study's Stanford undergraduate participants, 86 percent admitted to puffing up their language at some point in an academic or professional context.

It's an easy mistake to make. Those with higher IQs typically have large vocabularies. Thus we assume the converse must be true: if one uses a lot of big words, clearly one must have a higher IQ. There is a catch in this logic, however: readers, and users of software, are self-centered and also very lazy. In practice, we users care a lot more about our own experience of trying to understand something than recognizing the subtle genius of others.

In a recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained one of the company's most core values: "We believe in the simple, not the complex." You can see this philosophy borne out in every aspect of Apple's customer experience: hardware, software, the retail experience, packaging, even down to words it chooses to describe products.

In Adam Lashinsky's recent book Inside Apple, Apple exec Bob Borchers recounts that Apple boiled down the iPhone to three simple things: 1. It was a revolutionary phone; 2. It was the Internet in your pocket; 3. It was the best iPod ever created. Apple's consistent success is defined by its ability to describe a complex and powerful product in the simplest terms possible.

Microsoft has served as a foil to Apple's simplicity for decades. Flo Rida's allusion to Bill Gates might be somewhat appropriate given the unusual amount of complex corporate speak found in Microsoft's product naming and marketing. For instance, products featured on the website of Microsoft Expression (a brand ironically aimed towards designers) include Expression Encoder Service Pack 2, Expression Blend Preview for Silverlight 5, and Expression Web *SuperPreview* Trial. It makes you wonder what exactly all of those products do, since it's not immediately obvious from their names alone. I'm a little afraid of finding out what "SuperPreview" means, as it will occupy neurons in my brain better suited towards more productive goals. Luckily, it's easy to avoid finding out because the product description is expertly hidden in a giant block of text.

Flo Rida might be able to get by on a catchy beat and a memorable hook. Microsoft's engineering capabilities may make its naming gaffes forgivable. The rest of us will have to try create things that can be understood by geniuses and non-geniuses alike, and that very feat requires a bit of genius of our own.

Don't just sit there while the clock is ticking on your business idea. Go where the nerds are.

Almost everywhere you look, the barriers to starting a company are falling. Seed funding is easier to come by, startup costs are lower than ever, markets have never been more open. However, the technical skills required to execute the next groundbreaking idea are more in demand than ever before. If you are an entrepreneurial engineer, the world is yours for the taking. But what if you don't know how to code? What if you can't lead an engineering team? How do you find that code ninja, that "Ruby on Rails" rock star that you need to turn your brilliant insight into a billion dollar exit?

There is no shortage of networking events for start-up people, but they are the last place to look for a technical co-founder. Those meetings are crawling with non-technical people like you, or engineers with ideas they want to pursue. You need to go where the nerds are, where they feel comfortable, and you can't go just as a tourist—you need to go to places like this:

• Meetups There are hundreds of Meetups organized around technical topics. Engineers get together to discuss programming challenges and then drink beer and eat pizza. Stay silent and take notes during the first part. When the beer starts flowing, start asking beginner-level questions, and try to understand the answers. Bonus points: Bring the conversation up a level to broader design decisions.

• Nerd Hobbies If you can work up some enthusiasm for orienteering, dowsing, telemark skiing, Ultimate Frisbee, historical re-enactments, chess, Dungeons and Dragons, LARPing, war gaming, or board games, you'll meet a lot of great engineers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has an annual 48 hour-long scavenger hunt called The MIT Mystery Hunt. Volunteer to bring food, sleeping bags, and caffeine to a team and then get out of the way. Bonus points: Actually help solve a puzzle.

• Concerts and Local Jams There's a huge overlap between musicians and engineers, but it does you no good to hang around Justin Bieber shows. You've got to go far off the pop or frat rock scene and into "smart music" shows like Kraftwerk, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, They Might Be Giants, Rush tribute bands and the like. If you can play an instrument, tune up, and drop into a Sunday afternoon open jam session. Bonus points: Bust out an a cappella version of "Meet the Elements."

• Engineering Schools It sounds obvious, and you'll run into competition from the major Internet companies that recruit there, but an exceedingly large percentage of the people at engineering schools are actually engineers. Your local school has speakers, films, discussions, and panels every week that attract possible co-founders for your startup. Pick out talks that are relevant to your project and hang out after the event ends. Bonus points: Audit or actually take a night-school class. It's a great way to appreciate how hard programming is.

• Anything Tolkien or Lucas You've missed your chance to capitalize on the Lord of the Rings midnight openings, but fear not. Consider camping out for the re-reissue of Star Wars: Episode 1, this time in 3D. Gatherings that pay tribute to these mythmakers are easier places to have a conversation, but there's no distraction from the fact that you'll never know as much about Gimli as these folks will. Bonus points: Recount Boba Fett's origin without a crib sheet.

• Hackathons Real computer engineers are so into computer programming that they do it after work too. Companies large and small organize Hackathons so they can find great programmers. Just walk in the door like you know what you are doing, pick a spot against the wall, and find someone to cheer for. Bonus points: Don't spill beer on someone's keyboard.

There are other options, of course, including forming genuine, non-mercenary friendships with school or work friends. That's how I found my technical co-founder, and we've been together for five companies. But you've got to start somewhere, and the clock is ticking on your idea. So don't wait. Get out there where the nerds are.

A new study offers another reason to break a sweat that's specifically relevant to entrepreneurs: You're less likely to be a jerk to your employees.

There is no shortage of reasons to exercise. From the ability to keep squeezing into your favorite pants to wide ranging health benefits and even claims that breaking a sweat helps keep your brain in shape, the less active among us are routinely urged to laced up our sneakers and hit the gym. But if you haven't been persuaded by the standard reasons to exercise, perhaps a new study can provide you with some entrepreneur-appropriate motivation.

The research out of Northern Illinois University found that bosses who exercise less are more likely to be nasty and abusive to their employees, venting their stress on their team members rather than on the treadmill or in the weight room. Why is it that fitter managers are less likely to put down and stress out their employees? Eric Casaburi, a certified personal trainer and CEO of RetroFitness, explains:

It's not exactly that bad behavior and a lack of exercise are linked; it's built-up stress and a lack of an outlet for it that creates the bad behavior. A lot of managers get caught up in small and big stresses at their office and get the kick-the-dog syndrome. They end up looking for an outlet for that stress and often it's one of their employees. Where as, if they would have had a good work out or a two- or three-mile run, that becomes their outlet, instead of the employee. That negative energy dissipates with exercise because that exercise is serving as stress relief.

You're busy, we know, so how much gym time is required to channel your frustration in a less destructive way? Surprisingly little, according to the researchers. "Only moderate levels of exercise were necessary to minimize abusive supervision, such as one to two days of exercise per week, and the type of exercise seemed to make little difference," read the release announcing the study.

If you've been meaning to start an exercise program but your insane business-owner's schedule has been getting in the way, Casaburi has some advice. First, don't beat yourself up about when or what type of exercise you do. "Anytime is a good time for exercise when stress relief is the result," he says. Second, start thinking of your exercise goals in the same strategic way you view other business priorities, as essential for the long-term, smooth functioning of your business.

"Treat your health like your business. If you treat yourself and your health like you do the business, you’ll give it the respect it needs," concludes Casaburi.

What do you do to blow off steam at our outside of work?

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It's not all Super PACs and mudslinging. In fact, every business executive can learn valuable lessons from inside the Beltway and on the campaign trail.

Just because every American seems to be fed up with politics and politicians doesn't mean every business executive can't learn valuable lessons from the Beltway.

I've been following some of the most successful campaigns of the past four years and have embraced five public relations strategies in particular that have worked like a charm. See how many make sense for your business:

While it didn't exactly work for Hillary Clinton in 2008, it makes a world of sense for any senior executive charged with increasing awareness and enhancing credibility. Too many C-suite executives are content to hunker down in their corner offices and rely on the latest market research reports to determine their positioning and messaging.

Don't be a lemming. Grasp what the Beltway strategists already know: What worked last year won't necessarily succeed this time around. That's because your target audiences are better informed, more skeptical and less loyal than ever.

That dictates a listening tour. By that I mean monitoring online and offline audiences each and every day. Find out the individual wants and needs of every constituent. When appropriate, engage in conversations with them. And, remember that, if you don't keep listening and framing your positioning with the findings, you'll end up unemployed, declaring bankruptcy, or both.

Beltway strategists go far beyond listening tours. They insist their candidate hit the bricks and press the flesh. Senior business executives need to do the same thing. In fact, it's critical that a CEO and her marketing communications team routinely meet key customers and prospects. Far too many of my peers rely on second-hand information from sales forces to formulate their programs. Don't fall into the Ivory Tower trap.

Ask to be a fly on the wall as your sales executive wines and dines a key prospect. Attend trade shows and conferences where leading industry issues and trends are discussed and relationships formed. Again, don't rely on the sales team to be the sole point of contact. The candidate (in this case, the CEO) needs to be in the trenches (and so, too, does his or her communications team). The same holds true for employee meetings. Don't rely on a human resources executive to tell you the health of the organization. Don a lab coat, wrap a stethoscope around your neck, and examine the patient yourself.

While most people think politicians are only good at slinging mud, they're actually incredibly adept at responding to negative news. That's because Beltway strategists anticipate potential crises by simulating them. They actually stage a mock crisis and evaluate, in real time, how each member of the campaign staff should (or shouldn't) respond. You should do the same.

Examine your business. Identify the vulnerabilities. Could your business be interrupted by a cyber attack? What about product recalls? Workplace violence? Whatever your particular Achilles Heel may be, simulate the actual event and decide who, on the management team, is responsible for what. It's so much better to figure out a crisis response strategy before the crisis ever occurs.

While it may have been temporary, do you remember the huge bump New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's endorsement gave to Mitt Romney's campaign? The same occurred in 2008 when John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama. Third party endorsements should be part of every organization's business communications strategy. You should routinely reach out to strategic partners such as the presidents of industry trade associations, leading academics, heads of NGOs and others to create co-bylined articles, co-sponsored speaking engagements and other win-win strategies.

Better yet, form an "official advisory board" consisting of external advocates, create a microsite linked to your home page and provide a new bully pulpit for them to wax poetic on their views. You'll be providing free publicity and, God forbid, when the proverbial sh*t does hit the fan and your CEO is led away in handcuffs, the advocates can be called upon to provide critical (and highly credible) third-party endorsements about the fundamental soundness of your business.

Beltway strategists live in a 24/7 war-room-populated world. They are ever vigilant to trends and issues as well as what their opponents are saying and doing. You should do the same. With new and affordable tracking software such as Radian6 available, there's no excuse for you to not have the latest news and announcements of your entire competitive set pushed to your desktop, laptop or PDA each and every morning.

When you do, you'll be able to formulate a rapid response that, in some instances, might even outflank your competitor's big, new product announcement. Beltway strategists earn their stripes by turning an opponent's apparent victory into a smoldering ruin. And, you can do the same.

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They're low-cost, and provide the typical office amenities--conference rooms, photocopiers, etc. But there are other less tangible benefits for entrepreneurs.

Garages and bedrooms may be the archetypal home of scrappy new ventures, but these days entrepreneurs have another option when it comes deciding where to locate a fledgling business: coworking spaces. These communal offices draw independent workers and start-ups to a shared office environment, usually at relatively low-cost, providing conference rooms and photocopiers as well as other less tangible benefits for entrepreneurs.

What are these? CNBC recently rounded up a few ways co-working spaces help new businesses succeed, including low overhead and networking, but to get a fuller picture of the advantages these spaces offer entrepreneurs we went straight to the horse's mouth, emailing a handful of space owners and start-up founders who built their businesses at coworking spaces for their perspective on the coworking experience for entrepreneurs.

Liz Elam, founder of Link Coworking in Austin and an organizer of the upcoming Global Coworking Uncoference Conference, who also wrote the CNBC piece, expanded on the networking benefits of spaces like hers when we got in touch, noting that interactions with fellow coworking members often go beyond what we traditionally think of as networking to encompass emotional 'support.' This reflects the community focus of many involved in coworking. She writes:

The number one reason that a new business should join a coworking space is for the community support. Opening your own business is scary. It’s a huge risk personally and professionally. Coworking members will support you. They will let you bounce your ideas, give you honest feedback, and cheer you on when you have a success. It’s a ready-made, diverse support mechanism just waiting for you to walk in and join. We have named numerous businesses, changed website flow and even tasted products at Link.

Casey Bernard, who started her business CheckInsights out of Link, backs up Elam's assertion that coworking is a valuable source of support for entrepreneurs, both for the touchy feely emotional benefits and nuts and bolts exchange of skill. "I was working at home alone after moving to Austin from Dallas," Bernard explains. "I felt so isolated and wasn't meeting people in meaningful ways through the typical networking events and by working at coffee shops." So she joined Link and saw benefits:

One day someone was in for a tour and Liz found out he is an IP attorney. She introduced us and we chatted about my concept and he helped me file a provisional patent. Since then, just being around other entrepreneurs who share ideas and provide support has helped. Before I did my first demo of my product with a potential client, I grabbed a conference room with another marketing research professional who gave me feedback and support.

Craig Baute, owner of Creative Density in Denver, agrees that freely flowing feedback is a key benefit for entrepreneurs. "In a coworking space lunch time or anytime can become brainstorming sessions with some pretty smart people. The startup doesn't have to wait for a pitch night to get feedback," he says.

Another way to look at the community benefits of a coworking space is as a way to encourage serendipity. "You are able to quickly build out a diverse social network, which can potentially leads to new clients, new investors or resources to help you get the work done. This is what some in the coworking movement refer to as 'accelerated serendipity,'" says Don Ball, co-founder of CoCo in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

"In our space we have seen networking and relationships happen faster than in other environments," says Noelle Stary, co-founder of Launchpad Creatives in New Jersey, echoing Ball's sentiment.

But space owners aren't only interested in selling the intangible benefits of coworking. Like the CNBC piece they also point out that working in one can save cold hard cash for strapped entrepreneurs. "The best part of starting a business in a coworking space is the ability to be flexible and quick," writes Baute. "If you need a task done outside the partners' skill set then there is likely someone in the community that could help you out for a few hours. If you were working on your own, the startup would have to create a job posting or search Elance or oDesk and hire someone. This takes valuable time and hires someone with questionable skills."

Have you considered housing your business at a coworking space?

Is your product or service a coveted diamond or a chunk of coal? See the forest for the trees by following one author's inventive process.

If you view sales as pitching your service or product to a prospect you might be cheating yourself of profits. In the end, we are all selling ideas, not products and services—and when you view your company as an idea that can help your customers, it opens up a world of possibilities.

"The trouble is that our ideas are never very clear," says Dan Roam, a bestselling author and founder of Digital Roam Inc., a management-consulting firm. This author, who wrote a popular visual-thinking business book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures, believes that we have lost our minds—our visual minds, that is. Appearing everywhere from Fox News to the White House, Roam helps to solve complex problems through visual thinking. He says we have the ability to make even the most complicated ideas crystal clear.

"Our very best ideas start out pretty ugly—like a pile of coal," Roam says. "They are dirty, dusty, and unclear—the worse Christmas gift you can give someone. If you offer up a chunk of coal when you pitch your idea there is energy in it but no one wants to touch it."

But you can transform that idea into a diamond. Diamonds are structurally the exact same thing as coal; they are both 100 percent carbon. In the beginning they are both dusty and dirty, but a diamond goes through pressure and heat—and then a lot of fine turning. Through this process it becomes something that people never want to let go of. If you do the same thing with your ideas you can turn every idea you have into a diamond—and diamonds sell themselves.

"As business people we need to do this in all of our PR and marketing. And certainly in every one of our sales calls," Roam says. "We don't want to present anyone a pile of coal; present them with your idea as a diamond."

In his latest book, Blah-Blah-Blah, What to do when Words Don’t Work, Roam addresses a problem: We talk so much that we don't think very well. His solution? A way out of the blah-blah-blah; what he calls "Vivid Thinking." Let's take a look at the Vivid Forest concept—use this mnemonic device to remember the process that will transform your blah, blah, blah sales pitch into a gem of an idea that prospects can't resist!

F – Find the form of the idea. Presenting an abstract concept, waving our arms trying to describe it, we will lose our audience right away. They want to see something clear and that has form. This is easy if you are selling something like a bicycle but it's not always easy if we're selling a social media service, for instance, or a branding campaign. In these instances there is not form or picture to show, so we have to find it by looking at the underlying pieces of your idea. What does it look like? Find an analogy to describe the form of it. Is your idea something that helps people to move from one place to another, like a vehicle does? Or perhaps like a calendar that helps us move through time. What would your idea look like? Don’t convey it as a concept; convey it in a concrete form.

O – Use only the essentials. When we introduce our idea to someone new we don't tell them the entire thing. Rather, it's just the essentials of the idea. Keep it simple. Remember the acronym, BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front, which is used in armed forces. Decide in advance what the bottom line—the take away—is up front. If they are compelled by it—and if it's in form they will—they will give you time to you say more. If you begin with all of the details and nuances you will bore your prospect to death before you even get to the essentials.

R –Make your idea recognizable. Your idea needs to look like something the person has seen before to make it stick. For instance, the titles of many business books are very recognizable "things." You don't need to know what these books are about because you are already pulled in by the title since it's something familiar. Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink is a good example. You already know that a blink is something really fast; it pulls you in. Find a visual metaphor that makes your idea recognizable and describe it by using a familiar experience: "My new tool is like skiing down a mountain; you start at the top and by the time you get to the bottom you’ve achieved your goal really fast and have had a great time!" Whatever your analogy, make it simple and recognizable.

E – Make it an evolving idea. If the idea is finished, and there is no room for your listener to participate and they are not going to care about it. They want to participate too, we all do! They want to help the idea evolve as it relates to them. Build in some points where your customer can add to the process. Like dot-to-dot drawings—start out by having connected most of the dots but leave the last few for them to connect so the idea becomes their own. A really vivid idea is always complete, but never done. There is always room for our client, audience, prospect to add something of themselves so they can internalize it as something of their own. Then, they will grab onto it and you will never get your diamond back!

S – A great idea spans differences. A crystal clear idea (a diamond) does not obscure contradictions—it brings them right to the front. Make sure it’s not about just one thing to the exclusion of all else. If I told you that "you should buy my tool because it does everything, it’s perfect and there is nothing else out there like it," you will never believe me. But if I said, "now I recognize that the X, Y, Z competition is already out there, and here's how we are different," your prospect will listen. Your idea spans differences by saying we are "this" and "that." It spans the entire problem.

T – Make sure it's targeted. If we really want to take our idea from coal to diamond and get people’s attention we must make it targeted. An idea that’s not aimed at anyone in particular is an idea that nobody listens to. Make sure that your idea matches what they need. This is not about pandering; claiming that you can give them anything that they want. Target your idea to the audience to make it more appealing to them.

Think of your F.O.R.E.S.T. as a checklist, rehearse it in advance and run your spiel through the F.O.R.E.S.T. before presenting it. Take a piece of paper and draw your ideas out, hitting on all six of the letters. If you do these 6 things before your sales meeting, you have just won the sale!

Join me for a fun and insightful interview with Dan Roam on the Million Dollar Mindset. Visit us live Monday February 20 at 2 p.m. ET or download the podcast later!

Frustrated that your office fussball table or employee wellness program doesn't seem to be motivating your team? Here's why your perks are ineffective.

Maybe you bought your employees a ping pong table or let them telecommute one day a week. Maybe you brought in a massage therapist or offered free fresh fruit in the conference room. Whatever perk you offered, you probably weren't doing it 100 percent out of the kindness of your dear entrepreneurial heart—you also expected your investment to pay off in improved morale and increased productivity. But everyone's puttering around not looking noticeably happier or getting much more done than before. What went wrong?

It's a question tackled by a couple of thoughtful posts recently. The first, a piece on Fast Company by Dr. Serena Reep, a communication and management coach, argues that no matter how generous your sweeteners, all your efforts to engage and inspire your employees will come to naught if you get your company culture wrong:

Some work/life solutions in the workplace do not produce the magnitude of improvements they are hyped or expected to. Why? So long as employees view these tools as the employer’s way of getting more from them while paying them the same wage, they remain less useful as tools of increased productivity and loyalty. The problem is one of perspective.

When a corporate executive asks me what I recommend they do to change the paradigm of an ineffective corporate culture, I respond, "Concentrate on the soil." Concentrating on corporate soil isn't providing "more stuff." And while it is laudable to give new mothers nursing stations to breastfeed their infants, on-site gyms or gym memberships for athletic employees, and childcare facilities for young parents, this isn’t the soil. These perks should be a result of good soil, not the soil itself. Perks such as these should be part of a larger cultural context, one that the employees believe in.

This perspective—that your team will see your incentives for exactly the self-serving carrots they are unless you've convinced them of the importance of the larger mission of your organization and their value within in—is echoed by venture capitalist Brad Feld in another recent post with the pithy title "You Can't Motivate People."

Feld agrees that trying to bait employees into working harder with cool office design or lifestyle enhancers often simply doesn't work. Using his own efforts to encourage himself to get cracking on a book he's supposed to be writing by transplanting himself to sunny Miami as an example, Feld writes:

There is no external force "motivating me" to write this book. I'm doing it because I want to, find it interesting, challenging, and think it'll be a useful thing for the world…. If you generalize this, it plays out over and over again every day. The great entrepreneurs I know work incredibly hard at creating environments that are motivating. They don't pound away at the specific task of "motivating people," rather they pay attention to creating context, removing barriers, being supportive, putting the right people in the room, and leading by doing. All of these things create a context in which people are motivated.

It could be as simple as a warm day on the ninth floor of a hotel overlooking the beach, which I know is an ideal place for me to write. Or it could be an awesome office environment with incredibly challenging problems. Or it could be a set of people who are amazing to spend time with. In any case, the context is the driver of motivation.

It seems that Reep's somewhat opaque term "corporate soil" lines up nicely with Feld's more straightforward idea of "context." Whatever you call it, both these authors seem to feel that the larger environment, including the apparent worth of the work itself and the interaction between team members, is far more essential to motivation than gym memberships or an office espresso machine. These perks are nice, of course, but they're like sprinkles—they're of little interest to anyone if you don't have the cupcake of a good corporate culture to add them to.

Are you putting the cart before the horse by focusing on perks before you have your company culture sorted out?

What does a pet product start-up have in common with a Girl Scout selling cookies? They can both teach you about mobile payments.

After moving to Florida in the economic downturn, Anthony Santarsiero did some market research to start his own business. When his dog got sick on chicken jerky that had been produced in China, he decided a line of pet products that included freeze-dried treats as well as dental and medical holistic remedies was what the world needed.

"There's a big drive for holistic and natural remedies that follows the human purchase trends within the past six months," said Santarsiero. "I saw an opportunity for food and products with no chemicals, made in the USA." TerraPaws was born.

After sinking his life savings into starting the company, finding chemists to formulate natural products, and creating inventory, he realized how many players there were selling this kind of product, and admits: "I didn't do my homework well enough." Things weren't as cut and dried as he had thought, and sales were tough to come by.

After negotiating with vendors for more lenient payment terms (net six months in some cases), he and his two salespeople hit the road, selling not only at local stores and events in the Clearwater region, but going up to three or four hours away, at American Kennel Club shows, Humane Society events, ASPCA days, and the like. With table setups and booths, they did their best to sell products. People would come by the table, like the stuff, but they often didn't have cash or checks to buy. Santarsiero had anticipated this. When he set up his website he had also worked with provider Sage Payment Solutions to get mobile payment capability. Terra Paws was able to take credit cards at shows, and the salespeople were able to close deals at local chains and distributors with a swipe of a card.

Santarsiero said "When we present the product, we try to make the sale, and having the ability to get a credit card sale is huge. The other day we walked into a chain and ran a $7,000 charge for an order on a sale." With that kind of cash flow, and immediate access to the money, his business quickly turned around.

The Girl Scouts found similar success by adopting mobile payment technology. When the Girl Scouts tried out taking mobile payments, the organization found a 13 percent increase in sales. It chose Sage as a provider as well.

Of course, many start-ups are on smaller accounting systems, and they're using mobile solutions like Square.

For Santarsiero, his advice to fellow merchants is that "Any business owner looking at not being able to buy inventory should consider mobile payments. Ask for the money, and make it easy for people to pay. We're not waiting, we're not factoring, we are just getting paid."

When a marketing initiative fell through, my husband and I were left holding hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory. Here's how we turned things around.

I have yet to meet an entrepreneur who hasn't asked herself the questions: "What the hell am I doing?" and "How in the world did I get into this situation?" According to the SBA, only 33 percent of businesses survive beyond 10 years. Sometimes, one might wonder: If the odds are so stacked against me, is it even worth trying?

At the five-year anniversary of my company, Heritage Link Brands, our biggest marketing initiative of the year fell through. Just a few weeks before it was to begin, our customer, with whom we'd partnered to do the initiative, furloughed 2,000 employees, affecting its ability to execute the very program we spent months working tirelessly to execute. Overnight, my husband and I were left holding a bag of inventory worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, with no clue how we were going to pay our suppliers or staff. Our pillow talk was spent discussing how we could reshuffle funds to cover day-to-day expenses like our mortgage, child care for our two children, and student loans. What a brutal time!

Thank goodness everything worked out, and our company is stronger for the experience. But trust me when I say it was tough.

In the spirit of learning from my hardships, here are some tips on how my company decided to trust ourselves to "know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em:"

• Reach out to trusted advisors: Ours (many of whom had been in our situation before) coached us on how to manage the difficult-but-frank conversations that we had to quickly have with our staff and suppliers as soon as we knew we wouldn't be able to pay our debts in time.


• Communicate! Often times this may require eating a few pieces of humble pie. In our case, we were very candid with our customer about just how serious the implications of their action (or lack thereof) was to our bottom line. Depending on how they respond, you'll quickly know just how much or little they value your service or product (and relationship). In our case, they committed to making good on the failed program. But sometimes it's when the rubber meets the road that you find out whether or not you need to cultivate or quit your customer.


• Swipe your credit cards: Yeah, I know this sounds counterintuitive, but as a result of the economic downturn, we knew the prospect of getting traditional funding was bleak. While there were other finance vehicles we could have explored, their interest rates were higher than we wished to spend and not as attractive as leveraging low interest consumer credit cards my husband and I had available.


• Come to grips with making hard choices—quickly! It's never easy to lay off people, especially when you recognize just how deeply the effect will be felt by your organization. However you have to be ready for anything when it comes to sustainably managing and operating a for-profit business. If you don't take decisive measures (i.e. becoming more efficient when expenses spiral beyond the revenues to support it), it could result in the loss of the entire enterprise.

• Call on your passion to see you through. Never have I read where starting a business would be easy, and chances are you haven't, either. You likely knew this would be a hard road even before you decided to take the plunge. So take an inventory of "why" exactly you decided to get into business for self in the first place, and see if those same reasons still apply. Every amazing entrepreneur I know has honed two difficult skills: 1) the ability to make mountains move to save their business, and 2) the ability to walk away from a business in which they are no longer passionate. Passion can save a business that others may have thought had no chance, just like compassion can save entrepreneurs from forcing themselves to stay the course with a business, even after they realize that is not the best decision.

Weekly wine tip: To soothe the anxiety of difficult decision making, indulge with the 2006 White Oak Syrah. With silky texture and smooth tannins, you know exactly why Wine Enthusiast gave this fine wine 91 points!

Welcome to the "Silicon Roundabout," which is luring young companies with government funding, Google-sponsored office space, and a new start-up competition.

The start-up scene in London may not be as well known as the hotbeds of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley or New York City, but it is striving to offer entrepreneurs looking to launch companies a buzzing business environment. The UK capital hopes to lure talent with its East London "Silicon Roundabout," (OK, a "roundabout" sounds a bit dinky compared to a whole "valley," but the area boasts a new Google-sponsored space for start-ups as well as 300 innovative companies) as well as measures to boost the city's start-up scene, including £75 million in funding for high-tech small and medium businesses from the government’s new Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth and the Digital London summit showcasing local tech talent that's due to be held March 13 to 14.

Now a new competition tied in to the summit and supported by London-based idea-management company Wazoku is offering another avenue of assistance to fledgling British businesses with a market ready or beta-stage product. Companies that sign up to the Digital London Startup Challenge will first face a public vote on which firm is most deserving. Then the public's opinion and a panel of expert judges, including Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research Group, and Joe Baguley, chief cloud technologist EMEA, VMWare, will narrow down the field to a shortlist.

Finally, visitors to Digital London will vote on the winner who will receive a collection of business-boosting goodies including, of course, exposure, as well as an exhibition stand at next year's Digital London event, access to Wazoku's idea-management software, production time in a video suite to record a promotional video and £200 to spend at Moo.

"At Wazoku we are all about innovation and as a start-up we know that one of the biggest challenges faced by new businesses is getting seen and found by the right people. We suggested running a Startup Challenge as a way of involving startups in the event and to showcase some of the many innovative new businesses and ideas that are out there,” Wazoku founder Simon Hill said in an e-mail message. "The Challenge gives start-ups a great opportunity to be seen by potential customers—and some influential judges—and to create some buzz around their new business."

Should U.S. start-ups pay more attention to new competition (or inspiration) from across the pond?

You've built your company from the ground up, but now are being pushed out. Step One: Get a lawyer. Then what?

You founded your company, and have been the CEO since day one. You've shepherded your business from a garage start-up to a full-fledged business. Today, you have a couple dozen employees at your venture-funded operation, which is generating a lot of buzz.

Suddenly, you're feeling some dissonance from your board of directors. Members say they want "a CEO who can scale," and that's just not you. They want you to step down.

What can you do?

A few months ago, I wrote an article about firing your co-founder. Now I want to take a look at the flip side: What happens when you are the one who is being terminated or asked to step down? Here are five things to keep in mind.

You need to recognize that the company's lawyer is not your lawyer. That can be a difficult concept to grasp, especially if you have been dealing with that counsel since the day you signed incorporation papers. The reality, however, is that the company's lawyer answers to the board in this scenario, and cannot represent your interests. Your own personal attorney can help you understand exactly what your leverage is and, if necessary, help you navigate a separation negotiation.

The decision to terminate a CEO is generally left up to the board. However, your Board may not actually have the power to remove you from the CEO spot. The conditions surrounding your removal as CEO are almost certainly addressed in three places: your company's charter documents (articles of incorporation, bylaws, etc.), your employment agreement, and any stockholder agreements. You (and your lawyer) need to thoroughly review any company documents that touch upon your employment terms, director voting, board-meeting protocol, officer appointment or removal, and director election. These documents significantly impact your rights in this tense situation.

If the board is not looking to remove you from the company completely, then you're faced with an A/B decision. In my experience, CEO replacements tend to go down in one of two ways: In scenario A, the outgoing CEO is incredibly supportive of the decision, realizes that she is a better long-term fit heading up product development or another department, and she actively participates in a new CEO search. In scenario B, the CEO has no desire to stay with the company if she can't be CEO. She wants to negotiate a good separation package and leave. Only you can know which path is right for you—but it's important to make that choice quickly. Your decision will impact how you will respond to the board's announcement in the short term.

In virtually every scenario where a CEO leaves the company, the board wants to keep things completely "buttoned up" from a legal perspective. Board members realize that future investors and acquirors will want to see a separation agreement and release in place with the former CEO. This is good news for you. It generally means that you have some leverage to negotiate some outgoing compensation—perhaps some stock vesting acceleration or severance pay. Your attorney can provide guidance on what kinds of severance packages are standard.

Of course, this is easy for any outsider to say. The start-up was your baby, your life, your inspiration. The truth, however, is that start-up life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're true entrepreneur, this is probably just the first of many ventures. Try to take the good with the bad. Realize that while you may have a lot to learn from this episode, you also should not consider yourself a failure. In many cases, a CEO's "fit" with the board is an extremely subjective determination. Try to extract the positives from this situation and move on—whether you're moving on within the company or outside of it in your new venture.

A cognitive psychologist has developed a toolkit to help anyone be more inventive by shedding their preconceived ideas and thinking like a kid.

Every entrepreneur is trying to do something new and better. If your business doesn't improve in some way on the other dry cleaner in town or other app in the space, then why bother starting it, right? But inventing something truly different is rare—and very difficult. Is there any way those of us with less naturally creative minds can come with more inventive ideas?

Absolutely, says University of Massachusetts cognitive psychologist Anthony McCaffrey, who studies exactly what sort of thinking goes on the minds of inventors and recently published his findings in Psychological Science. Looking back at past "eureka!" moments—such as when someone looked at a burr stuck to a sweater and conceived of Velcro, for example—McCaffrey came up with a model of where out-of-the-box ideas come from.

"There's a pattern that, during the inventive process, people notice something that was overlooked and then they use that overlooked feature to build a new solution," McCaffery said in an interview.

"We're basically geared towards noticing the common things because that's most helpful in our daily experience. We don't want to have to figure out how to get a drink of water each time. But if you want to be innovative then your habits are your enemy and you have to fight against doing the common or habitual and know how to get to the obscure things," he explains.

The evidence from McCaffrey's lab is that this ability to see the obscure and unusual can be taught, and he's developed a tool kit to do just that. The techniques in the toolkit, McCaffrey says, are geared towards helping break us out of habitual thinking and return us to the fresh perspective we had when we were young:

If an inventor is stuck on a problem and could simplify it enough to describe it to a class of fifth graders, I would almost guarantee that those fifth graders would give you some new ideas that you have not thought of before.

Young kids are wild thinkers. They make wild associations. But when you get to that range of fourth through sixth grade, their minds are becoming a little more adult. So whereas really young kids will give you impossible answers, magic kind of answers like 'oh, my pet bunny will breathe on it and it will be fixed,' the fourth through six graders will have wild ideas but they'll still be kind of plausible.

[My techniques] are trying to get you back to when you were ten years old now that you've lost a little bit of that ability to associate more freely.

Thanks to a $170,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, McCaffrey is developing software to deliver his techniques to engineers specifically. But he claims that those in any sort of creative domain, from marketing to comedy writing, could benefit from his toolkit. So what does it contain? He offered some example techniques:

• The generic-parts technique. Generally we look at an object and simply see the way it's usually used—a plug goes in a socket to connect an appliance to electric current, and that's all there is to it. Those looking for fresh ideas should try to strip away their preconceived notions of an object by describing it without reference to its usual function, including its material, shape and size. That plug? It contains two small, flat pieces of metal. Look at it that way and it could be used as a screwdriver, for example. "The trick is to un-conceal the features relevant to your purposes," McCaffrey says.
• The thesaurus technique. "When you describe your goal, you're going to have a verb in there like 'I need to fasten things together' or 'I need to remove this from that,'" says McCaffrey. "Use a thesaurus on the verb. I've asked people, 'list all the ways you can to fasten things together' and most people come up with eight to 12. However, if you look in a thesaurus for the synonyms of fasten, the more specific ones give you things like, 'buckle, clip, weld, glue, tie, Velcro' and on and on. Where people can come up with eight to 10, the thesaurus is going to have 60, and obviously it's helping you think way beyond your narrow range."

McCaffrey also recommends those hoping to boost their inventiveness broaden their range of interests. "Have a wide interest in your reading, what you pay attention to, what's coming out in several fields of your choice," suggests McCaffrey. "Follow your interests and you naturally can make connections between them that others can't as easily see."

These aren't worker bees. They are whole individuals with human needs and desires. Appreciate those and you can make your company stronger.

From the mid 1980s to early 2000s, my world was about creating and delivering training to customer-facing professionals from high-tech blue-chip companies. For those 12 years, I witnessed firsthand a wide variety of work cultures and attitudes about individual, team, and company performance. Even though the training was in the realms of skills, knowledge, and processes, in the end, it wasn't as much about learning software or tools as it was about learning how to create strong personal as well as company-to-company relationships.

Since diving into the venture-backed start-up world as CEO of Get Satisfaction, I've had to shake myself out of some of my preconceived notions about people, performance, and the role both play in hyper-business growth.

As Deloitte's John Hagel wrote in Forbes recently:

The biggest challenge for businesses today is learning to think about their employees the way they think about their customers. How do you engage them? How do you measure the return? And on the topic of innovation, how do you apply leading practices from the cutting edge of consumer engagement that centers on human experience?

Treat your employees the way you treat your customers? Engage them just like you would your top clients? Well, that's a topic I know a little something about.

Bring Your Whole Self to Work

If you want to truly engage your employees, the No. 1 thing to remember is that personal needs trump professional aspirations—every time. People wake up as human beings, not as employees of Get Satisfaction, or of any other company. And even as many of their waking hours are spent at work, the social Web and fancy smart phones keep employees connected to their personal goals, problems, and needs 24 hours a day. Yes, they are always on—toggling back and forth through multiple activity streams in multiple corners of their screen.

It's true: lots individuals start their day by signaling to their tribe (friends, fans, and followers) that they are awake, listening, noticing, expressing and sharing too via Foursquare, Facebook, or Twitter (myself included). That's especially true in the start-up world. And, yes, some of that curiosity is work-related, but I would suggest most of it is not. The key is to understand that this connection to the interpersonal sphere of the whole person is a good thing. It's good for you, good for your employees, and good for your business too.

When your employees are tapped into these personal channels—checking in with their friends, family, fans, and other followers—their creativity and curiosity flows. This sense of self is core to who they are, both personally and professionally, and that means it should be taken into account when thinking about work roles and engagement.

A whole person does the job, not just half. When you see your employees as whole people, they feel appreciated and supported. They're filled with more potential motivation to excel rather than just doing the basics of what's expected. Personal experiences lend perspective that encourages extraordinary contribution. I've seen first-hand how this extra "head room" helps employees perform at levels beyond what anyone thought was possible.

Get to Work by Playing

Here's an example:

Last week, the Get Satisfaction team played Wheel of Fortune at a company-wide kick off meeting, all of the answers related to company values. Instead of a lecture, on corporate values and their tenets, three contestants spun the wheel, guessed consonants and bought vowels. In place of a sterile slide show for each value we had the puzzle projected on the wall, an audience cheering them on and sound effects when contestants hit Bankrupt or guessed wrong. By engaging employees in play we made learning the corporate values fun, entertaining, memorable and, most importantly, human. That's good, because they are human beings before they are Get Satisfaction workers.

Games in the workplace aren't new; remember icebreakers? Team-building games? Trust falls? Play at work is about finding the strengths and vulnerabilities of each "player," balancing them into compliments to create teams that succeed personally and professionally. For employees, that means a role that places value upon a whole range of skill sets that extend far beyond a job description (more skills = higher value). Let's go over that again: simply by letting your employees be themselves, you increase the value of their contribution to your business. You aren't just hiring a "skill set." You're hiring a whole person. That's the return to the business—creating lasting value with fully engaged employees bring their whole human selves to the office every day.

I've learned a lot at Get Satisfaction about engagement. All people (employees and customers) want, expect to be engaged (at many levels). If you're not making the effort to truly connect, they will find someone (or something) who will and does. Let's hope it's not your competitor.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone's hopes to build a state-of-the-art open wireless broadband network are put on hold because his signal jams GPS devices.

LightSquared's founder's efforts to create a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network have been shut down by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) concluded that there was no way around interfering with GPS signals. The Reston, Virginia-based start-up, launched on July 20, 2010 by billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, is working to build a state-of-the-art open wireless broadband network that would complement existing and emerging networks by operating on a wholesale basis exclusively.

The FCC granted LightSquared a conditional waiver last January that prohibited the company from commencing commercial service until it could prove its signals wouldn’t jam those of GPS devices. Having failed to do so, the FCC is looking to revoke LightSquared’s operating permit.

In a letter to the FCC from Lawrence E. Strickling, NTIA’s Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, he states, “We conclude at this time that there are no mitigation strategies that both solve the interference issues and provide LightSquared with an adequate commercial network deployment.” New technologies in the future could be the answer to LightSquared’s woes, but the time and money it would take to replace existing GPS technology isn’t supported by LightSquare’s scheduled deployment.

The issue at hand stems from LightSquared’s initial plan to transmit its signal directly adjacent to that used on the GPS spectrum–a situation that would prove extremely problematic not only for personal navigation devices, but also for the aviation and military industries as well. In an effort to gain regulatory approval, LightSquared made several concessions including reducing its spectrum band by essentially half to 10 MHz. However, the company’s efforts weren’t enough to circumvent the problem of signal interference.

LightSquared was hoping to sell its wireless service on a wholesale basis to rival giants like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. According to its website, such a business model would “lead to dramatically lower prices on the retail level and give consumers a brand-new option for wireless broadband.”

Although the company has hit a major speed bump in its aggressive agenda, Falcone has been reported as saying that he’s ruled out bankruptcy and is standing by his company, confident that the issue will eventually be resolved. A written statement from LightSquared notes, “We remain committed to finding a solution and believe that if all the parties have that same level of commitment, a solution can be found.”

'Shark Tank' contestant Megan Cummins learned the hard way what can happen to investor promises. Five ways to make sure it doesn't happen to you.

Megan Cummins learned the hard way what can happen to promises from VCs. Even when they're made on national TV the investor doesn't always follow through.

A recent CNET article by Rafe Needleman took a look at what happened behind the scenes with contestant Megan Cummins, who pitched her company You Smell Soap on the reality TV show "Shark Tank."

Cummins successfully pitched the investors on Shark Tank and got offers from three of them. She turned down two to take one from technology entrepreneur and investor Robert Herjavec. The deal was $55,000 for 20 percent of the company and an additional $50,000 for Cummins to live on for the first year.

However, Cummins says that she never received any money. She claims she tried to reach Herjavec for six months after the show was taped in July 2011. After back-and-forth with his assistants, a contract finally came: It called for half of the company for $55,000. Cummins said no.

According to Needleman, Herjavec responded to questions about the situation by email:

"After the show we begin the due diligence process. As is the case with Megan in the process you find out different things and adjust. Both sides have the opportunity for due diligence and to make a decision."

And that's clearly true. However, in the real world, as opposed to the reality one, due diligence comes before making an offer. Cummins says that the outcome "was for the best" because she owns her company free and clear. But there are some things that she, or any entrepreneur, should know before looking at investors:

• Be clear on the nature of your business. You don't want investors to say that they didn't realize something about your company. Design your presentation to ensure that they won't have any. Cover the fundamentals of the business. There should be no way someone could claim not to know the current status of your company.
• Be ready for investor due diligence. Investors have heard everything from PR spin to lies from companies over the years. They won't necessarily believe what you claim, nor should they. Even if an entrepreneur is honest, there can be differences of interpretation when looking at a company's position. Don't assume that what you heard in a meeting is what you'll see in black and white.
• Do your own due diligence. You should put as much attention into qualifying potential investors as they will put into qualifying you and your company. Talk to other companies the person funded. Use the six degrees of separation process to find people who have done business with the investor. See if you can learn how dependable and trustworthy the investor is.
• Never say yes when you have other offers. The most important lesson is that you don't agree to work with an investor until you see the proposal, and you don't wave goodbye to other investors until you have a signed contract. The point is to find the best deal, not put yourself into a position where you're stuck with only one possibility.
• Have alternatives. Cummins was smart to resist and keep pushing to make the business work. Look for funding sources outside of investors. Maybe it's money from friends and family. You might find that receivables factoring or getting funding from customers could work. In any case, you need the alternative so you can say "no" to a bad deal.

It's fine to deal with sharks, just as long as you don't become shark bait.

Since the time of Ben Franklin busy entrepreneurs have been told 'time is money,' but is this common mindset actually making you miserable?

Since the time of Ben Franklin, few sayings have been as popular as "time is money," and that aphorism seems especially relevant among busy entrepreneurs. It's a pithy reminder that lost productivity often translates to lost revenue. But despite being as common as dirt, is this saying and the mindset it represents actually causing us harm?

That's the suggestion of new research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The small study used 53 Canadian college students as guinea pigs to test the knock-on effects on our psychology of thinking of time and money as interchangeable.

The researchers conducted a series of three experiments that encouraged some participants to think of time and money as interchangeable by calculating their hourly wage from their earnings. Others weren't asked to make this calculation but all participants were then given time to relax and their happiness was measured afterward. Here's what they found, according to the paper:

Experiment 1 demonstrated that thinking about one's income as an hourly wage reduced the happiness that participants derived from leisure time on the Internet.

Experiment 2 revealed that a similar manipulation decreased participants' state of happiness after listening to a pleasant song and that this effect was fully mediated by the degree of impatience experienced during the music.

Finally, Experiment 3 showed that the deleterious effect on happiness caused by impatience was attenuated by offering participants monetary compensation in exchange for time spent listening to music, suggesting that a sensation of unprofitably wasted time underlay the induced impatience.

Or to put it simply, thinking about the monetary value of our time when we're relaxing makes us impatient and unable to enjoy our leisure time. The implications are pretty straightforward for business owners: pondering exactly how much you could be making when you're supposed to be relaxing prevents you from properly winding down when you're off the clock.

Maybe it's time to remind yourself of the value of the other non-monetary values of loafing, including boosted creativity, stress reduction, time to reflect on big-picture questions and perhaps even improved relationships if you spend some of that leisure time with those you care about.

I've learned so much from my own wanderlust that I decided to pass it on to my employees: Everyone gets a free one-month trip every five years. Here's why.

Plain and simple: Sabbaticals make business sense.

Bolivia, Morocco, Vietnam, and many other exotic locations worldwide, have taught me valuable business lessons. That's because I would throw most of my income from my first business into yearly treks that would flood my head with business ideas. These annual, three-month trips never failed to rekindle the fire in my belly needed to lead a fast-growing company.

My biggest light-bulb moment—the one that spurred the idea for my company—happened on Red Frog Beach in Panama. I was thinking that marathons and 5Ks had become, well, boring. It was time to inject military-style obstacles, mud, and beer. We created an event called Warrior Dash, which did just that. In three years it became the world's largest running series.

I gained so much from my wanderlust that it only made sense to offer this benefit to my employees, my Frogs. Every five years they (and a guest of their choice) get a fully paid one-month trip to the destination of their choice. One catch: North America and Australia are off limits (most Frogs already go to Australia for our events there). This isn't a cocktail-umbrella-on-the-beach sort of trip. It's a push-yourself-outside-of-your-comfort-zone, culture-drenched, that-just-changed-my-life trip. Those trips bring home game-changing ideas. Those are sabbaticals.

My leadership philosophy has always been that when you treat your employees well, they'll perform well (see Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days and Why Your Employees Need a Treehouse). Start a sabbatical benefit for your employees because:

Africa is calling. My wife and I are headed there next winter and I guarantee I'll come home with plenty more than pictures of giraffes.

If you ever wondered whether starting a business is worth the hell you put yourself through, read this.

Every time a new founder/billionaire is minted—and there have been plenty lately—people who aren't entrepreneurs tend to lose sight of what this calling is really about.

One social entrepreneur we interviewed for our book Breakthrough Entrepreneurship, an Episcopal bishop named Rev. William Swing, put it this way:

"There are two fields of genius available...laborers who live on yesterday's insights and entrepreneurs who live on tomorrow's possibilities. Both have their own dignity, but entrepreneurship pulls life into its destiny."

Entrepreneurship isn't simply about launching new ventures or making money. Instead, it's about solving problems and creating social progress; building great new things that make a better world. It's about celebrating each step toward the ultimate human longing for an enhanced and enriched enterprise of life.

But it gets even more interesting. A true entrepreneur might toil in obscurity for life. He or she might never actually leave the day job or create a venture that becomes a household name. There might never be great success or wealth in his future. But breakthrough entrepreneurship is equal parts attitude and attempt. Even if the entrepreneur falls and fails a thousand times, there is a real sense of winning in the effort—especially if he can pass along the benefits of his experience to those who come behind him.

Most of the highly successful entrepreneurs we interviewed while researching our new book, Breakthrough Entrepreneurship, did not cite money as their prime motivator. That’s good, because money doesn’t buy happiness anyway. In fact, studies show that once you reach $75,000-a-year in income, more money doesn't do much to increase your contentment.

Instead, it's the creative process itself, with a focus on meaningful problem solving, that leads people to deeper levels of consciousness and truer truths. We found scores of entrepreneurs who talked about how they find it an especially fulfilling journey when it's fueled with their personal strengths. Bishop Swing, founder of the United Religions Initiative, put it in terms particular to his profession:

The impossibility of the task is the thing that makes it so attractive. Entrepreneurs are always on a pilgrimage which finally leads to the realm of the Spirit... Inexorably, one has to end up in the field of the ultimate.

It's deep stuff, and it doesn't mean that you have to dwell on this all the time as you're trying to do what you have to do to succeed: Identify important customer needs, create solutions, develop a compelling value proposition, gather necessary resources, build credibility, and lead your venture to greatness. But on those dark days when you lack motivation—or when you're just wondering whether it's worth trying to escape from Cubicle Purgatory by starting something of your own—remember that you’re trying to create something new, something better, something closer to the ultimate.

We asked Bishop Swing his thoughts about this column after we wrote it. He emphasized, “Remember achieving success is not the point. The point is to jump into the stream that you intuit is leading inexorably to the breakthrough. I used to say....’before we ever flew, there were plenty of people who got up on the barn, glued feathers to their arms, jumped off and started flapping. That's all you can ever do...use the stuff that is around you and spring for the future.’”

Managers may call them "best practices," but employees see them as annoying hindrances to good work and desire autonomy instead.

"Best practices," as a term, should speak for itself. These rules, procedures and guidelines for how things get done have, obviously, the goal of streamlining and improving work. Otherwise they wouldn't be best, right?

But it turns out there's a chasm between how managers, executives, and business owners think of these helpful suggestions from the top and how front-line employees view them. They may be best from management's perspective, but ordinary employees, it seems, often beg to disagree. A new survey of 800 execs, employees, and educators from across a range of industries carried out by communication training company Fierce uncovered resentment and annoyance over so-called "best practices." The survey found:

• 44 percent of respondents say their company's best practices actually hinder employee productivity and morale
• 47 percent report that their organization’s current practices consistently get in the way of desired results, rather than optimize the success of the business

In short, you as the boss might just want to be helpful and supportive by offering up these best practices, but nearly half the time your employees feel they know how to do their jobs better than you and feel held back by your dictates. But, you might ask, if they don't want to be guided by best practices (or restricted by them, depending on your point of view), how do they want to be managed?

"Nearly half of survey respondents identified the most beneficial practices as those that encouraged accountability, development, and individual empowerment within the organization," according to Fierce. "Companies must foster an environment where individual efficacy is encouraged and where communication is both elicited and valued." Or to put it in everyday English, your employees want to be trusted to do their jobs properly and empowered to make decisions about how to be successful.

They also want transparency, according to the survey. Seventy percent of respondents told pollsters that if they felt a practice needed to be adjusted, they would candidly approach decision-makers within their organization if they felt their views would be welcomed and the company was willing to change these practices. But sadly, only a third of those who said they'd come forward felt their company would actually listen to them.

Fierce feels not providing the autonomy, empowerment, development and transparent organization your employees want can cost you. “These widely accepted practices are not only ineffective, they are costing our companies billions of dollars, driving away our most valuable employees and customers, limiting performance, and stalling careers,” said Halley Bock, CEO of Fierce, Inc. “This survey should encourage managers to question the practices in place.”

So, do any of your so-called best practices need a rethink?

When you're determined to make your start-up succeed, it's easy to be serious. But it's the companies that work hard to establish cultures of play that attract great people, continuously push the boundaries of innovation, and ultimately win.

I always laugh when people talk about the frivolity of start-ups. Sure, ping pong tables, electric go-carts and video games may seem more fitting for a college dorm than a start-up office, but most people don't realize that creating a culture of play can be one of the most important drivers of innovation and productivity within a young company.

So, how does play affect success in a start-up?

Kids are super creative. Why? Because when they play, there is no limit to their imaginations. So, it's not too surprising that when we're forced to grow up and leave Neverland, it becomes pretty difficult to let our creativity run wild. At Napkin Labs, when we have a problem to solve, we often try to step back and emulate a child-like state of mind, essentially ignoring reality. Sometimes that means our CPO dresses up like an old professor for important meetings, but most time it just means we let our guard down, joke about crazy new products, or share ridiculous "what ifs." Yes, many of the ideas put forward will never work, but the act of stretching our minds often times leads to a breakthrough.

Start-ups are stressful, so play is a great way to break the tension and help people get a clear perspective. One of my favorite examples of this comes from Trada, another start-up here in Boulder. Trada created a hilarious scooter race called Palio di Trada, which gives employees a chance to relieve tension and stress so they can more easily focus on their work. Fun activities like this one are also big morale-boosters, since employees are able to let loose and re-energize themselves for the work ahead.

Who wouldn't want to work at a company that makes having fun a priority? The fight for top talent in the start-up world is extremely competitive. Since most start-ups can’t compete on salary and benefits, many try and set themselves apart by offering a fun company culture. Also, emphasizing your unique, playful culture during the interview process can help you find people who are a great fit personality-wise for your company. For start-ups where employees work long hours together, seven days a week, a good mesh between personalities is incredibly important.

Many companies develop a culture of fear. Fear of appearing unintelligent, fear of not hitting numbers, etc. While fear might help drive employees to achieve results in the short term, it also can have a devastating effect on innovation. When you have a culture of fear, people will hold back on suggesting an idea for making something better. On the other hand, companies that establish a culture of play—where it's totally fine to laugh, joke, and even get crazy—will promote openness and acceptance between employees. People will become much more likely to take risks and fight for what they believe when they feel comfortable around their peers. This freedom makes your team much more willing to experiment, and will cause your company to learn and grow faster.

Start-ups require constant creativity and hustle in the face of uncertainty. When you're determined to make your start-up succeed, it's easy to get serious. But it's the companies that work hard to establish cultures of play that attract great people, continuously push the boundaries of innovation, and ultimately win.

Does your company promote play? If so, how has play led to creative solutions? Share some great examples of using play to drive innovation at your company to help encourage other companies to do the same!

Forget the long-stemmed roses and tickets to Broadway plays. I've found smarter ways to woo my company's best clients.

I'm often struck by the similarities between professional and personal relationships. In fact, I believe most of the fundamental strategies and tactics used in wooing a "significant other" hold true when one is in search of that next big customer. At the same time, maintaining a relationship with a significant other (or an important client) demands the same intellectual rigor one extends to the thrill of landing Mrs. Right (or Mr. Right, if you prefer).

Here's a list of strategies I use to ensure my long-standing client relationships never grow old:

1. I send clients a "thank you for your business" note on each and every anniversary of the signing of our very first contract.

2. I share breaking news on competitors. Nothing, and I mean nothing, motivates a chief executive officer more than beating her competition to the punch. One of the best ways to make your direct client report look good is by arming him with competitive news before the CEO knows about it. He, in turn, can then present it to the CEO and look smart (and strategic) in the process.

3. I periodically ask customers what "non-public relations" business issues are keeping them up at night. I want them to know I care about their entire job universe and, with a little insight, just might be able to help find a new partner to ease some of their non-PR pain.

4. I ask if I can shadow a client (or his sales force) for a day. Nothing delights a customer more than an outside partner's willingness to invest time in learning more about the business of their business. Sometimes, nothing comes out of it. Other times, I've been able to uncover subtle nuances that enable me to tweak the public relations program in order to make it even more effective. Regardless, the client always appreciates the extra time and effort invested.

5. I take time to periodically ask myself the following question, "What can I do to make my client look like a hero to his chief executive officer?" Again, sometimes I draw a blank. Other times, I come up with "Have you ever thought of doing such and such…" questions that show the client I'm really thinking about him and his career.

6. I put myself in my client's customers' shoes and experience the brand from the outside in. This is a game changer and never ceases to amaze a client. So, sometimes I:

• Become a mystery shopper and experience the client's product in a neutral setting such as a Lowe's or Home Depot.
• Visit the website to see how easy it to find critical information.
• Dial the client's 1-800-customer service line to see how quickly my "complaint" is handled.

I then report my findings as well as any suggestions for improvement. I've yet to meet a client of longstanding who doesn't appreciate the sweat equity involved in performing any of the above.

7. I hold periodic, internal account audits in which I invite employees who are not working on the client's business to review what we're doing and suggest alternative approaches. Once again, I sometimes uncover pearls and other times turn up nothing at all. But, I always make sure the client knows we're investing additional time in thinking through creative solutions to his marketing challenges.

There are many other ways to remind a client of long-standing how important he or she is to your business. But, I've never been one to send a dozen long-stem roses, tickets to The Book of Mormon or box seats for a Knicks game. To me, that smacks more of old school client romancing and, frankly, turns my stomach.

It's been said many times and in many ways that it's much less expensive to maintain a current client relationship than go in search of a new one. Client turnover, like death and taxes, is inevitable. But, there's a reason why we have seven or eight significant clients with whom we've partnered for 10 of my firm's 16 years of business. And, the list I've provided above is a good starting point.

Don't wait. Here are seven reasons to launch a venture today.

Now that you know my belief that starting a company is your best hope of living the life you want, here's the next logical question: When should you get started?

1. You're young

The best time to start a company is when you are young. The younger, the better. Youth is a beautiful thing. It's the perfect combination of ignorance and innocence. Stupid decisions are excused as learning experiences and the worst outcome of most youthful transgressions is a few days in juvenile prison, or, worse, going broke.

Blogger Michael Arrington recalled a conversation with a venture capitalist last year that "entrepreneurs are like pro basketball players. They peak at 25, by 30 they're usually done."

I don't agree with the blanket statement, but I do agree that it's easier to pour your life into a company when you're young, creative, fresh, and fired up.

When I graduated from Northwestern in 1996, my primary asset was time and passion. I decided to focus these assets on two goals: making money and finding women who would date a geek in glasses with crossed eyes and a bum heart.

Starting a business killed two birds with one stone. I grew my first company into what became a publicly-traded firm (University Wire and Student Advantage) and I met my future business partner, best friend, lover, and wife at a wedding at age 22.

I've never met an entrepreneur who said, "Wow, I wish I hadn't started so young." The world is full of regrets and one of the main ones is from entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs lamenting that they didn't start off earlier.

2. You're miserable at work

Life is too short to sit behind a desk and be miserable. Show me someone who makes a million dollars a year but hates his job and I'll show you an unhappy guy. Show me someone who makes a tenth of that and I'll show you someone who is 10 times as unhappy.

I've always believed that misery loves company for a reason. Look inside any company and you'll find a boatload of misery, the best fuel to start your own company. We grow up rebelling against our parents. Many grow companies to rebel against former bosses.

Use your nights, weekends, and lunch breaks to form your ideas and network and start laying the groundwork for your eventual prison break. And when you're confident you're on to something, jump. I assure you that you'll never look back, even if all you have at the end is less money in the bank and a learning experience.

3. You're out of work

There's nothing like a good ol' fashion layoff to turn you from a worker into an owner. It shocks and beats the comfort out of you. It's a mini death forcing the least introspective to examine all aspects of their lives.

Let's be clear, everyone who is laid off should not start a business. But a layoff is a great catalyst if you're already thinking about making the move.

When you're fired or let go, many fall into the trap of focusing energy on the people who "wronged" you. Just the opposite. Look at the firing as a blessing in disguise and motivation to reevaluate your life. Put everything on the table—new opportunities you have been ignoring, industries you're interested, and starting your own gig.

4. You have no responsibilities

Start-ups and life responsibilities are often inversely related, if not mutually exclusive. The more responsibilities you have, the less likely it is that you will start a business.

I have many friends who have been speaking to me about starting businesses for 15 years now. And for many, they now feel it's too late to jump in.

While age and responsibilities are often related, they aren't always. So start a company when you have the time and the energy and the freedom to do so. Don't wait until it's too late and you're trapped by a mortgage, private school tuition bills, and annual family vacations that you need to fund.

Starting your own firm has a ton of rewards—excitement, accomplishment, the promise of financial freedom, and more. But don't kid yourself, it also has a ton of downsides—you won't see your friends or family as much, your income will approach zero, the time you used to spend working out is now being spent networking, meeting, recruiting, and traveling.

Providing for others and keeping up with a lifestyle you've grown accustomed to makes it hard to start companies, especially for the first-time entrepreneur. If you are single, married without kids, or thinking about getting married and starting a family—and considering jumping on the entrepreneurial train, do it now before you decide that it's just too late.

5. You have an incurable obsession

Our great country was founded on the idea that anyone with an idea can strike it big. John D. Rockefeller, the son of a traveling salesman, founded Standard Oil, and in the process became the nation's first billionaire whose fortune swelled to more than $500 billion.

The Rockefeller story is a great one. But don't get seduced by the myth, the money, the adventure, and the allure of being a self-made person. Starting a company is the hardest thing you will ever do professionally. It's you versus the world. And the world wins 90% of the time.

Start a company after you sit on your idea for a while—and you can't get it out of your head. You're obsessed. You're incurable. No matter how much you try not to think about the business, it keeps coming back. You start working on the idea during all your free time. You can't stop talking to friends and family about it. And you feel like you will never forgive yourself if you don't take a chance.

This incurable obsession must be consistent over an extended period of at least three months. Let it sit. Let it settle. And don't confuse it with the entrepreneurial seizure, a more temporary excitement that will wane if you give yourself time to really think about the idea.

6. You are an "intrapreneur"

I am starting to spend time with more and more entrepreneurs who came to the game late but are in an ideal position to thrive. They have launched stuff inside large companies (also known as "intrapreneurs") and have put some money in the bank. Despite having responsibilities and being older then 25, they are in a position to invest in themselves.

Just look at David Rochon and Michael Libenson from SavingStar, a mobile savings company I invested in and sit on the board of directors. David had 25 years experience in the grocery industry and Michael was a former consultant who spent 20 years building other people's businesses.

The two launched Saving Star, which in December 2011 TechCrunch called the "Groupon of Groceries." The two are well on their way to creating a formidable business that will revolutionize how consumers save money through a network of 24,000 grocery and drug stores nationwide.

It's well documented that college dropouts create great businesses (Facebook, Microsoft, and Dell, to name just a few). But data also shows that age and entrepreneurial success aren't tied. The Founders Institute released research last year that shows that being older increases the likelihood of success. They theorize that the "combination of successful project completion skills with real world experience helps older entrepreneurs identify and address more realistic business opportunities."

The Kauffman Foundation reports that the Great Recession of a few years ago drove more people to start their own business than any time in the past 15 years. And the fastest-growing group of business starters? Old fogies like me (those who are older than 35)!

7. Do it today

You can try to pick the best time to start a business. When you are old, young, rich, poor, fat, thin, with hair or balding. But any attempt to do so won't make you more or less likely to succeed. Entrepreneurs come in all sizes, shapes, ages and colors. And, believe it or not, our country doesn't have a monopoly on business creation.

Great businesses have been created in times of prosperity. Great businesses have been started when we the country was facing its darkest hours and the entrepreneur was at her lowest low.

If you're reading this story, you're interested in starting your own business. And if you are reading to the end (yes, you! I'm talking about you!), you're about to jump and seriously consider it. Why else would you read 1,500 words about a topic you weren't passionate about?

So let me make it simple for you—the best time to start a business is TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not in two weeks. Not after you get promoted, pregnant, married, or your MBA. TODAY! You're not getting any younger. Your life is not getting any simpler.

See that cliff in front of you that you're scared to go over? Run up to it once again. But this time, actually jump. What you will find below is the life you wanted to live and all you need to do is get over the fear that's keeping you back.

To see more about how I decided to start my first company rather than take a job, and how fear is getting in your way, check out my talk from late last year.

I'm going to be answering questions next week in my column. So please ask anything you'd like about starting a company in the comments below.

The average legal bill even before VC financing can run more than $20,000. Why pay that when DIY options abound?

You’ve got a killer idea, a well-researched business plan, and enough capital (you think) to at least get it off the ground. Before you get too far, however, have you factored in legal expenses? It's a cost that optimistic entrepreneurs sometimes forget about or downplay.

Consider this: The average legal bill prior to Series A financing is $23,000, and the average legal bill for Series A is around $52,000. That’s according to Richard Komaiko, cofounder of AttorneyFee, a website that compares the prices charged by more than 25,000 lawyers. The company, which gleans its data using proprietary Web crawling technology, recently surveyed entrepreneurs about the costs they incurred during start-up.

Komaiko says one thing that can markedly affect those figures is deferred legal billing, a dangerous practice because it can be easy for entrepreneurs to spend more when they don’t have to pay upfront. “A lot of start-ups go legal-service crazy and lawyers know that’s the psychology.”

Komaiko says there are three things many new business owners think they need from an attorney—advice, connections, and actual services—but there are ways to get these things without amassing an onerous legal bill.

Advice – Some people hire a lawyer for business advice they could be getting cheaper somewhere else. Want to know if you should structure your company as an LLC or S-Corporation? An accountant can answer this question far more cheaply than a lawyer. There are also plenty of resources, online or otherwise, to educate yourself.

Connections – While it’s true some of the big-name legal firms in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston do have well-paved inroads to investors and others who may be good to know, accelerator programs or co-working spaces are alternatives that can get you linked to plenty of well-connected people.

Services – All new businesses need legal documents drawn up that deal with things like entity formation, raising seed round capital, creating a convertible debt note, non-disclosure agreements for outsiders, trademarks, and sometimes, patent applications. Sites such as RocketLawyer and LegalZoom have free or inexpensive templates you can download. Komaiko warns, however, using templates can be risky and sometimes they don’t fully address a company’s specific needs. If you’re unsure, you should run your document past trained eyes.

And obviously, comparing the fee structures of various attorneys is a great idea, as well. If you’re not located in the dozen or so cities for which AttorneyFee compiles data, stay tuned. Komaiko says his company has only mined about one-sixth of the pricing information publicly available on the Internet so as it continues to do so, his platform will become more robust and useful for making informed decisions about which attorney or firm to choose.

Social media is a great way to promote your business but spending too much time connecting online can burn you out. Here's how to get your spark back.

One of the best things about being an avid reader is that moment you stumble across a phrase that clearly describes something you've experienced but didn't previously have the words for. Take "social media hangover" for example. It's a phrase that appears in an old-but-good post on B2B Marketing Insider. You may have felt a certain vague, brain-deadening feeling wash over you after spending too much time promoting your business or product on social media, but Michael Brenner's description from the post nails the experience:

Last week I attended SAP’s annual conference… as a "social reporter." For three full days, I live-blogged and live-tweeted my way through almost a dozen conference sessions, I created nine blog posts, 83 hash-tagged tweets and more than a few Facebook comments and likes. When it was all over, I collapsed into a social media stupor.

I flew home after the show and aside from a few responses and notes of appreciation, I found myself suffering from what felt like a social media hangover…. For three days after the show, I felt my social media haze and headache. I sporadically checked in on my connections across the various networks but just couldn't bring myself to dive in and create anything.

Burnout is possible in many areas of business, of course, but the always on, always tempting nature of social media makes it particularly easy to get sucked in to long hours building your network on these sites. And while the brand awareness and networking benefits are real, all that time in front of Facebook and like can leave you a little woozy headed, drained and with a vague sense of being down in the dumps.

Plus, research and anecdotal evidence suggests that spending too much time gazing at perfectly curated profiles on Facebook, profiles that often eliminate all the warts and stresses of a person's real life, can knock your self-esteem. Author and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha has called it "The Feel-Bad Effect from Not-So-Close Facebook Friends" and Lijit founder Stan Jones, has described the problem of keeping up with fellow entrepreneurs online: "On Facebook they have been to glitterati tech conferences. In person they confess they haven't been able to sleep for months, and are on anti-anxiety medication from the stress of financial pressures on their company."

Luckily, Copyblogger's Cori Padgett recently offered a handful of cures for the condition. Some, like getting away from your screen and out into the real world to see people in the flesh, are relatively obvious, but at least one is a clever idea you've probably never considered before. Padgett suggests:

Get back to basics. As the lovely James from Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words recently suggested I try, sit down with a pen and write out some "I Believe" statements on just why you started your journey online in the first place.

What was true then that still holds true now, that could possibly be a good motivator and reignite your creative spark? For me, when I started my entrepreneurial journey, I believed I had a story to share that others might relate to. Sharing my story might help someone else who may be struggling and make things a wee bit easier. It must have helped, because suddenly I was inspired to write this post!

How do you manage your social media use for maximum benefit and minimum pain?

Cash flow can be a real pain point for start-ups. These new solutions by young companies are helping start-ups scale quickly without cash infusions from investors.

Mediafly, a 22-person start-up based in Chicago, sells on-demand software and apps to some of the biggest companies in the United States. Its customers typically pay yearly subscriptions, which means each invoice is a substantive amount of money—upwards of $100,000. But those payments don't get filled immediately (some take as long as 60 days), which can be a significant pain point to the company's cash flow, especially as the company scales.

But Mediafly's CEO, Carson Conant, has found a solution. Rather than take on venture capital to stabilize the company's cash flow, he decided to sign up with Ariba, an online invoicing firm that offers dynamic discounting—a service that has existed for years, but made much easier by smart use of the Web.

"Accelerating cash collection allows us to invest earlier in innovative new features," says Conant. "New features allow us to attract new customers faster, outpace competitors and expand [services] within current customers faster." Last year, the company grew about 300 percent, and expects similar growth for 2012.

Venture capital may seem like an attractive option for start-ups, but it's still an expensive—not to mention pressure-chocked—way to take money, especially if the start-up is merely looking to cure a cash flow issue. And Ariba is just one of several young firm to offer dyanmic discounting solutions. Taulia, for instance, a dynamic discount and self-service platform for corporations launched in 2009, recently raised $8.5 million.

It's not a new trend, per se—old school receivable financing and factoring have been around for ages. Bringing the equivalent of bank factoring online amounts to a simple 2.0 refresh of an financial transaction that many entrepreneurs would prefer to not devote too much time to thinking about. "Technology makes it faster for suppliers to find cash," says Drew Hofler, senior manager of financial solutions at Ariba, which was founded in 1996 in Sunnyvale, California.

Ariba's dynamic discounting simple, but innovative. Buyers and suppliers are connected an online platform, similar to a social network. After an invoice is created, buyers can offer accelerated payment (with a small discount) and suppliers can accept the offer, reject it, or counter-offer. Using Ariba, Mediafly is able to receive payment from its biggest customer in 14 days, as opposed to a typical 30 to 60 days.

"Ariba, particularly dynamic discounting, hasn't just been an influential thing—we think it's fundamental," says Conant, noting that although the company has raised $6 million in angel funding since launching in 2006, it has yet to take on venture funding.

According to Drew Hofler, as of last year Ariba's buyers were sitting on about $2 trillion worth of assets. Because interest rates remain low, offering a discount in exchange for a shorter payment period makes financial sense for some larger firms. Credit, too, remains tight. It's a scenario that Hofler believes is ripe for innovation.

"The funny thing about the new normal for banking is that, before Lehman, it was pretty much free credit," he says. "When that happened, banks clamped down. Banks are still loaning, but when they do, the loans are restrictive and it can be more expensive. When the credit market started thawing, those who really didn't need credit were able to get it, but the smaller companies, the entrepreneurial companies, were't able to get it. For a long time they found it almost impossible to get short-term credit, and are still finding it hard to get. What I see technology doing, it's basically a matter of simply giving visibility into the opportunity to all the parties involved, new forms of commerce spring up from that."

Jed Simon, founder and CEO of FastPay, a Los Angeles based firm that Simon describes as a "a tech-enabled receivable finance business," is addressing a similar cash flow problem. Specifically, Simon founded FastPay last year to provide near-instant financing for digital media businesses, who often need to lay out significant chunks of cash when doing an ad-buy. According to Simon, cash flow can cripple a business, especially if the company doesn't have enough liquidity to make a purchase.

"Just because a company is profitable, doesn't mean a company is generating enough cash," Simon says. "Even when companies are profitable and growing, they actually require even more cash."

"Just because a company is profitable, doesn't mean a company is generating enough cash."
—Jed Simon, CEO of FastPay

For example, if a digital ad-ops firm is charged with making a $100,000 Facebook advertising buy, the vendor may be responsible for the initial outlay of the cash, and invoice the brand. But it may not get the money for up to 90—or even 120 days. In the meantime, the company may struggle with a shortage of working capital.

"A client that needs to front the money—if they don't have a large pool of capital to keep investing in media, they can't grow," Simon says. "They either grow slowly, or need to go raise a bunch of equity or other financing to keep doing campaigns. If you're looking to invest in human capital, you need even more money. Cash is king. The key to a growing company is having enough capital to win."

After a short application process, companies can enlist FastPay to essentially fund the receivables they owe for a small discount. FastPay looks to the credit of the receivables, more than the business itself.

Online content publishers are a perfect example of how FastPay's innovative approach to cash flow can help a young and growing company. Consider Destructoid.com, a video game site based in San Francisco. The company's CEO, Yanier Gonzalez, uses FastPay for this purpose.

"Our primary source of income is advertising and it took us a really long time to figure out how we were going to be able to sustain cash flow and continue to grow," Gonzalez writes in a statement. "I went to my banker. And the first time I walked in there to get a loan and had to explain what I did for a living, they were just like "What?" They didn't understand my business. Then I discovered FastPay. They got it from day one. They're like okay, now here's what we can do. And it was done in like two days. It was ridiculous. I mean it was literally 48 hours and we had our funding. They're like the best thing ever. I don't actually think I'd be in business if it wasn't for FastPay."

If you think that PR is just about the press mention, think again. A great media campaign can actually make you money. Here's how.

Done correctly, a cleverly crafted public relations campaign can help take a company to the next level in more ways than one. Great publicity is a tool that Joy Schoffler, Founder of Leverage PR, has used to help start-ups and early-stage companies raise more than $20 million in capital, make the Inc. 500 list, secure Fortune 500 accounts, and experience tremendous growth. Whether you are a marketing associate looking to make a name for yourself, or the founder of your own company looking for ways to raise capital to grow your business, PR can take your career and company to the next level—if done correctly.

"My background and experience with PR is a little out of the norm," says Schoffler. "I spent the first half of my career growing early-stage companies and raising capital. When I looked back at how these companies were able to experience such incredible success, I found the one common thread: I used well crafted PR campaigns."

Sure, seeing your name in ink is thrilling for any business owner, but why stop there? If you believe that being quoted or highlighted in a reputable magazine or on television is the end of the line for your publicity efforts, you simply aren't thinking big enough. "By understanding the business environment and investor thought process, you can craft your stories to speak to investors and enable growth, not just get your name in the papers," Schoffler says.

There's a simple way to go beyond just being quoted and tell your story: Establish yourself as a thought-leader by producing content yourself.

"Positioning yourself as an expert contributor is the No. 1 technique start-ups in development looking to raise capital should use," explains Schoffler. "At the seed stage, investors are buying into you and your vision. Positive press that positions you as an expert is outside validation that you know your stuff."

Monte Lee-Wen, president and CEO at The PPA Group, says good PR took his company to the next level. "When we started we had an impressive portfolio and a superior business model, but no one knew that and being the one to tell them tends not to carry a lot of weight. Publicity helped our business raise tens of millions in capital, make the Inc. 500|5000 list several times, close over half a billion in commercial real estate and grow from a four-man operation to over a 100 employees."

When you want to leverage publicity for growth, remember that this is not a slight-of-hand trick to make investors think you're better than you are. Publicity is a spotlight. You must know what you're talking about; find your topic and speak to it intelligently. And instead of talking about you and your product exclusively, offer facts and metrics that support your claim--then tie in your company as further evidence of your claim.

"We used our publicity to show investors our past accomplishments and highlight our level of skill and market knowledge from a third-party perspective," says Lee-Wen. "Publicity served as an outside validation showing investors that highly trained media professionals believed in our abilities enough to use us as expert sources."

So how can you get noticed by investors through your PR campaign? Here are some great tips and "PR rules to live by" from someone who has done it time and time again: publicity expert Joy Schoffler.

Pitching is sales. Pitching your story idea to a journalist is like any sales situation. Be conscious of your words and how you use them. Focus on the elevator pitch and make it compelling, memorable, and relevant. Brevity is key; journalists do not have a lot of time. You have less than two minutes, (if you're lucky) to convince them—or at least inform and interest them. And, your story needs to be compelling enough to entertain the reader because that is the journalist's goal. Don't be dull or one-dimensional! No one cares about your new product unless it's mind-blowing—and even then, when was the last time you read a 100 percent positive product-or-service review? Think instead about your company's story as a plotline: what are the challenges you've overcome? What things are interesting about your company and why should they care? How will it make their life better?

Know your media contact. Do your homework before pitching a reporter or producer. Know what the journalist is about by reading their work and engaging with them in social media. Don't pitch a business reporter who covers Microsoft if you own a social media tech company--this is one of the fastest ways to alienate a reporter! Once you have studied their work and you know you have the appropriate contact, make it easy for the journalist to use your information. Send a brief e-mail (note the word brief) as they don't need or want to know your life story. Hyperlink your data, never send attachments. Then follow up with a phone call a day or two later. Make it short and relevant to a hot trend. The more complete your idea, the higher the odds of getting noticed by your reporter.

Raising Additional Capital. For companies in the middle of raising capital, highlighting previous investments in your company can be one of the best ways to raise additional funds. In today's business environment in which companies are struggling to even get loans, the media loves to highlight a success story. You can position investment-related stories in a way that uses the larger trends of the economic downturn or other relevant topics. You can position your firm as a "beacon of light," making it seem even more appealing. If the investor is well known in the community or in a prestigious investment firm, this is a great angle to get coverage.

What to do once you have coverage. it is important to use it to its full advantage. Every piece of coverage is outside validation that your company/product is viable. Make sure you are using your success to meet your overall goals. First, let all of your target customers and investors know about your coverage.

• E-mail your database letting them know your company was featured
• Spread the word via social media adding it to your twitter inventory, post to LinkedIn and your Facebook fan page.
• Ask strong connections in your industry and your friends to share the news, as the more hits your article receives the more likely you will be to receive follow on mentions
• Mention the article and link to it on your company blog

Next, if you have received national coverage, call your local newspapers and business journals and let them know about your coverage. They will often do a follow-up story, reporting from a local level.

Additional tips:

• Build Investor and Customer Kits or add the press coverage to your existing kits. Include a press section in your investor or customer presentation and add the information to your product brochures and company and executive bios.
• Start building a News Room Section on your website including press releases, media coverage and a digital press kit. If there was a great quote from a journalist or analyst about your product, use the quote on your website and marketing materials.
• Have copies of your media coverage framed in the waiting room or lobby (if you have one) if it is a major award or significant press event.
• Measure the impact of your publicity in your investor presentations. This will serve two proposes: it will show investors that you track data and make your marketing assumptions more realistic.
• As a start-up or growth-phase company, you are often not only selling to customers, but also working to gain buy-in from new potential recruits. Good press coverage can help you negotiate better employment contract terms and lower wages if they think there is real potential. Having strong talent will make attracting attention from investors much easier.

A word of warning! If your company is not ready or your goals are not clearly defined, PR can do more harm than good. If you do not have a business plan and at least a brochure website up you could do more harm than good with a publicity campaign. Publicity is a spotlight that you can shine on your organization, and unless you are skilled at how you position it, it can have a negative effect.

Join me for in-depth details as I interview Joy on The Million Dollar Mindset podcast, Monday, February 13, 2012 at 2pm ET.

Yes, start-up life is hard on families. But do you have to be willing to give up a real bond with your kids to be an entrepreneur?

The likes of Apple and Facebook were once scrappy start-ups battling to transform how we communicate and handle information. Now, between the outpouring of grief following the death of Steve Jobs, Facebook's impending IPO, and the fact that nearly every pocket or bag in the land contains these firms' products, they're more institutions than insurgents. So perhaps now that the dream these firms were selling has become the ubiquitous present, it's time to look at what we've actually got.

This comes in the form of hand-wringing about what our digital lifestyles do to our relationships. (Here's a college kid who went Luddite for three months, deactivating his cell phone, e-mail, and social networks. Chalk, notes, and stopping by made a resurgence.) But it also comes in the form of a more critical examination of the start-up mania that these firms' astounding success have ushered in. How many young people are inspired to dream of founding businesses by the incredible success of seemingly normal(ish) Mark Zuckerberg? Do these start-up dreams have under-discussed costs?

That's what three entrepreneurs whose views were rounded up by Jason Kottke started to wonder after reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs. The short post is well worth a read in full, but the gist is encapsulated in the words of Jeff Atwood, a co-founder of Stack Exchange:

Start-up life is hard on families. We just welcomed two new members into our family, and running as fast as you can isn't sustainable for parents of multiple small children. The death of Steve Jobs, and his subsequent posthumous biography, highlighted the risks for a lot of folks. [...] Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange have been wildly successful, but I finally realized that success at the cost of my children is not success. It is failure.

Designer and entrepreneur Eric Karjaluoto expresses similar sentiments. "I admire [Jobs] for the mountains he climbed. At the same time, I wonder if he missed the whole point, becoming the John Henry of our time. He won the race, but at what cost?" Kottke admits that "since Jobs died, I've been pushing a little less hard" toward a definition of success that involves insane working hours.

And it is not just Kottke and company who are wondering whether most of us really want to pay the true costs of anything resembling the Zuckerberg or Jobs-type of success. Blogger Penelope Trunk has a woman's perspective on the issue and focuses on Facebook's soon-to-be-massively-wealthy COO Sheryl Sandberg in a new post. While she has nothing against Sandberg, whom she praises as super smart and extremely supportive of women's ambitions, Trunk still has questions about whether Sandberg's success is actually an appealing option for the vast majority of women.

Sandberg wants to be a role model for women who want big, exciting careers. But here's the problem: women don't want to be Sandberg. It’s no coincidence that the number one woman on the list of self-made millionaires is Oprah. She has no kids and no husband. She’s fascinating, nice, and smart. But few of us would really enjoy her life.

Sandberg and Oprah represent extreme choices in life. The things they give up are not things that most women would want to give up in exchange for the wild career success they could have.

The bottom line for Trunk is the same as it in for Kottke—seeing your kids and having start-up success are not compatible goals. That might not often be clearly articulated in the culture but it's true, and this makes high-octane entrepreneurialism a hard choice for many. "Sandberg is not a role model. She's an aberration," concludes Trunk.

Do you agree you have to be willing to give up a certain bond with your kids to be an entrepreneur? And if so, is it worth it for you?

Thinking of starting a business, but not sure where youll find the cash? Here are a few tips on how to launch a business with little to no money out of pocket.

Just like meeting Mr. or Mrs. "Right," or having your first child, the most opportune time to launch a new product or service can arise when you least expect it. And to fully take advantage of all that comes along with the opportunity, you must hold your breath and take the plunge!

Assuming you're like most people in this world—not born silver-spoon-in-mouth—you might feel the cards are stacked against you in starting a business. How can you turn your idea into a thriving business without much, or any, start-up capital? In this era of multi-million-dollar Series A investments, is it even possible to start-up without angel or VC funding?

Of course it is. But it's neither easy nor intuitive. Here are three tips, based on my personal experience, on how to start up without hawking all of your worldly possessions in the process:

1. Don't quit your day job. At least not yet. By staying put at a 9-to-5 as you prepare for your company's launch, your salary can support the impromptu expenses (beyond the cost of your personal time) that inadvertently pop up when starting a venture. Doing so also provides the financial peace of mind to observe and learn from other people's successes and failures before diving in. This comes in the form of networking with industry players, volunteering, and researching the entrepreneurial space to get ready for what's in store! For a head start on the latter, check out The Everyday Entrepreneur. It's a quick read with easy-to-apply lessons from entrepreneurs across a range of industries who provide the advice needed to prevent costly mistakes novices might make otherwise.

2. Exercise all options—virtually. One of the biggest (and bought) lessons I learned while founding Heritage Link Brands is that not all countries, states, or municipalities are alike where setting up the physical location of a company is concerned. And some, more than others, provide incentives or tacit benefits to startups to encourage enterprise, depending on the industry, product or service provided. Since our venture of choice was wine (one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world), we took diligent notes to understand costs (i.e. annual licensing: $5,000 in Massachusetts versus $400 in California) and made decisions accordingly. With the tremendous amount of information available through the Web, take advantage of side-by-side comparisons or business indices before making any hard-core investments. Also be sure to explore services that allow you to outsource some of the minutia that comes along with administering a business, like Elance or Talent Gurus. With the support of such firms, your business can ramp up slowly as you accelerate your bandwidth to match the venture's growth trajectory.

3. Don't be afraid to accept the kindness of strangers, friends or family! Whether tapping into an alma mater network for interns or fielding volunteers that learn how special and differentiated your offering is
through word of mouth, you can expand the capacity of your venture tremendously. The easiest way to manage this low/no cost option is to introduce a trial period for these wonderful souls to gauge fit and develop systems and processes for firm hires in the future. Also be sure to align skill sets with the demands of the business. Especially when the relationships are close, make sure whoever you bring on board is capable since the ramifications of things going sour are amplified, when family or friends are involved. If you find something's not working, don’t be afraid to let go of volunteers who add little to no value to the company’s bottom line. Lastly but not least, always be thankful and appreciative to these selfless beings for the extra help! Honestly, I'm not sure what I would do without the countless people who contributed to the success of my business.

Weekly wine pairing tip: For a wine that offers no risk of disappointing your palate, try the Tupun Torrontés out of Argentina. Filled with peach flavors and hints of lemon zest and citrus, it's just delightful.

You just closed a small financing round, hired some new team members and are looking to move into a new office space. Here are seven things to avoid when signing up for your new digs.

You just closed a small financing round, hired some new team members, and are looking to move into a new office space. After finding the perfect spot and locking down a two-page letter of intent, the landlord sends over the lease agreement—and it's 70 pages long. How do you get through this massive document without delaying the move-in process? What should you focus on? Here are seven things to look out for when signing up for your new digs.

The first few sections of almost every lease agreement contain the basic lease terms—rent, start and end dates, square-footage, etc. It is definitely not OK to be sloppy or loose here. These numbers drive your move-in scheduling, monthly payment obligations, and operating expense responsibility. It is completely standard and within your rights to expect these basic terms to be explicitly and accurately nailed down in the lease agreement.

Long-term leases simply do not make sense for start-ups. Whether you're knocking it out of the park or navigating troubled waters, it is unlikely that any space will be suitable for your business for the next seven years. Even for the next three or four years. I often advise clients to keep the lease term to just a few years or less. You'd like to preserve as much flexibility as possible—and don't want to be overburdened with a ton of extra space, or stuck in a cramped office environment. You might pay a little more in rent for the privilege of a shorter lease, but any experienced entrepreneur will tell you that the added flexibility is worth every penny.

Even if you can negotiate a shorter lease term, it is really important to make sure that you have the ability to sublease your space in the event of a sudden downturn. You should expect that your landlord's consent will be required in order to sublease your space. However, the lease should specify that the landlord's consent should not be "unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed." Further, the procedures around subleasing should be clear and easy to follow.

Obviously, you are on the hook if you trash your space. The repair obligations to look out for relate to things that are out of your control. Unless the damage is caused by your actions (or the actions of people whom you invite into the office), you should not be on the hook for structural repairs to the building (building walls, plumbing, HVAC systems) or repairs to the shared common areas. You also want to avoid any obligations to comply with local building codes and federal laws—unless the landlord is making rock-solid representations about pre-existing compliance, or your duties are triggered only in connection with your actions (such as your renovation of the space).

This is something that landlords will often sneak into the lease. It is a provision that allows the landlord to move you to a "comparable space" within the building. Strike this immediately if you can. The landlord will typically agree to cover the expenses associated with the relocation—but that's not the point. Moving is a huge distraction for your start-up. Signing a lease is supposed to provide some level of comfort that you have established a "home" for the short term. You do not need the extra headaches from an unexpected move.

Most lease agreements will come with an attached set of building rules and regulations. The vast majority of these will be standard, with variances driven by the location, size and type of office building. The landlord will also have a unilateral right to change these rules. So why do I even raise this point? Well, it is primarily a matter of managing the landlord's expectations, particularly if your start-up has some unusual aspects to its operation that might inadvertently trip the building rules. For instance, I worked with a start-up that would host on-site training in its offices. The building had rules around third party visitors that would affect the company's ability to hold these sessions. By discussing our concerns with the landlord up front, we were not able to revise the rules, but we did get assurances that the landlord would be very supportive of our client's training activities.

Of course, because I am an attorney, you probably knew this one was coming. In all fairness, I actually do believe that lease agreements are frequently "over-lawyered" by counsel. That being said, even the most "standard" leases contain clauses that are confusing and potentially harmful to your company. It is also probably true that my list of lease traps does not address all of your start-up's unique concerns. You need a lawyer who not only has experience in reviewing and negotiating leases, but who also understands your start-up, your risk tolerance and how your specific business issues come into play.

How else did you expect the site to make money? My company uses the same business model--and there's nothing unethical about it.

How else did you think Pinterest was supposed to keep the lights on?

That was my first question after I read an article forwarded to me recently about how the visual bookmarking tool makes money off of users' pins. For anyone who doesn't know what Pinterest is, it's a site where people "pin" images and videos from around the Web to a virtual pinboard that other users can follow. It's a lovely and compelling site and growing fast. According to Hitwise, the site had 11 million visits in one week in December—a 40-fold growth spurt over the last six months. The other big news is that Pinterest is driving major traffic to retailers, which has suddenly made everyone sit up and take notice.

What they noticed this week, however, about Pinterest's business model has caused something of an uproar.

Here's what tech blogger Hillel Fuld wrote about it:

(W)hen my followers click on my photo and end up buying the product on the site to which it was linked, the site/business gets paid and you know who else gets paid? Pinterest! On my back. Without my permission. And with no transparency of telling me that they are monetizing my content.

Now, it may be due to the super simple Pinterest sign-up process (you connect through Facebook or Twitter) that makes users overlook this, but you do need to agree to the site's Terms of Use, which state:

By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.

Now, those are pretty straightforward and common terms for the Web. But even if you just checked the box without reading it, I have to wonder, why isn't this assumed?

My company Buyosphere monetizes content on our site similarly. We use Skimlinks—the same third-party affiliate network that Pinterest uses. I know from experience that even with the traffic Pinterest gets, this model doesn't add up to a major amount of money. A quick skim of pins reveals that very few of them are affiliate product links. Many of the items that Pinterest users share and re-share are images taken from Tumblr and blogs—links that do not have affiliate programs associated with them. I don't have solid numbers to back this up, but I'm assuming that a small percentage of Pinterest's content is actually monetizable through Skimlinks.

Fuld's article makes it sound like there is someone going through all of the images and changing the URLs to affiliate links, but that's not how Skimlinks integration works. Skimlinks simply detects URLs with affiliate programs associated to them and embeds the affiliate code. That's it (unless there is something deeper going on, which I don't see in my stream).

I know that Pinterest is a success because of its community, but in order to continue serving that community, it needs to make money and this just seems like the most obvious, seamless way to do so. Users wouldn't want ads messing up the interface nor would they appreciate brands taking over and ruining the community feel. And, ahem, venture capital is not a business model.

I see the Skimlinks integration as the least invasive of options to monetize the site that millions are starting to rely on. So, then, I'll ask again, "How did you expect Pinterest to make money?" I, personally, assumed they would monetize product links. What was your impression?

How (and why) to disrupt your own business before your competitors or upstarts have a chance to.

Many years ago, I was lucky enough to work on a project with one of the original Apollo 13 mission-control engineers. One day, while he was patiently answering questions from his wide-eyed colleagues about how NASA got the astronauts safely home via their Lunar Escape Module, he paused, looked down at a gadget in his hands and cracked a wry smile. "You know, this little device has more computing capacity—by a large order of magnitude—than we had to work with in the entire LEM."

No lie, that tiny anecdote still pops into my head about once a month. It reminds me how fast the world is changing. Which, oddly, brings me to the topic of cannibalism. No, I'm not speculating on what would have happened had the astronauts run out of Tang and space food packets, but rather I'm talking about product cycles and innovation. More specifically, how more businesses should be the ones to kill their own products through disruptive use of technology, rather than waiting for competitors to do the job and push them out of business.

As Clay Christensen captured so well in his classic book, The Innovator's Dilemma, it's almost unheard of for companies of any size to accomplish this. Once a product is launched, inertia sets in so hard and fast, that challenging the underlying technology, value proposition or even marketing of that product becomes counter-cultural. Native cannibals, those employees who see the potential to reinvent their businesses via new technologies, are ignored, marginalized and eventually rejected by the corporate organism's immune system perfectly designed to protect its status quo.

A very successful Silicon Valley angel investor is my favorite example of this immune system response. He worked for an industry leader in the Valley for a decade before leaving in frustration. He's since funded and sold two start-ups to his previous employer at a total price of more than $300 million. Think of how much less expensive it would have been for that company to retain him, fund his ideas internally and reap the benefits without having to compete for them in the acquisition market.

And the large and growing importance of technology, software design, physics, and statistics to all industries has introduced new potential disruptors, the foreign cannibals. These are the brilliant engineers, mathematicians, and scientists who are successfully reinventing entire industries from outside the status quo. It's not just that they have no sacred cows, it's that they are willing and able to disprove the very existence of cows. Example? I think PayPal and Square are the two most important financial innovations of the last decade. You know how many collective years of financial services experience the five co-founders behind these two companies have? Three. (Peter Thiel's years trading derivatives for Credit Suisse). Makes you wonder if American Express, Visa, and MasterCard spent the last decade playing video games and updating their Facebook pages.

Makes you wonder if American Express, Visa, and MasterCard spent the last decade playing video games and updating their Facebook pages.

So, how can you ensure that your business is a continuing source of innovation in your industry? That you remain cannibal and not cuisine? Co-opting the native cannibal can be accomplished by giving those wonderfully disruptive individuals money, space, and people to try out their ideas. But, most importantly, they need the unyielding support of a senior sponsor that will take the inevitable heat when the corporate missionaries start demanding their heads.

Leveraging the foreign cannibals is harder. You have to find them, get them interested in the problems your product is trying to solve, and then be able to identify and implement the quality ideas from among the many questionable ones they may throw out to you. Quirky, the crowd-sourced product design community, is a really intriguing example of this approach, in my opinion. I'd love to hear from others of other on- or off-line examples of collecting and leveraging foreign cannibals.

This is all top of mind for me because my company, Mindflash.com, is about to undertake its second, self-cannibalization experience. We're on a path to reinvent our technology and product experience in a dramatic way over the next year. I'm not sure whether Christensen would label our work as "sustaining technological changes" or "disruptive innovations," but we're aiming for the latter. And be sure that we've started the fire under the huge cast iron pot for inspiration.

Helping your employees set work-life boundaries is easy and prevents burnout. So why aren't you doing it?

Are you an after-hours Blackberry addict? Do you expect your employees to be e-mail addict, too? How much to keep in contact with office calls and e-mail in the evenings and over weekends may be a matter of personal choice (or business necessity) for founders, but for employees when they can switch off can be a nerve-wracking gray area, points out Cali Williams Yost, CEO of the Flex+Strategy Group, on Fast Company recently.

Unless you're in the psychic mind-reading business, the only way your employees are going to know how available you expect them to be is by close observation of the example you set and a stressful dose of guesswork. Unless you explicitly tell them, of course. After all, conscientious, promotion-minded workers probably won't ask if they can chuck their phone in their bag and forget about it at home, as they won't want to come off as a slacker. Williams Yost writes:

Leaders fail to clarify their personal preferences for staying connected to work with technology, and don’t share their expectations of the responsiveness with their direct reports. This leads to misguided assumptions that can wreak havoc on the work-life balance of their employees. And most leaders have no idea any of this is happening.

Luckily, there is a quick, easy and perhaps best of all, free fix to this problem. By simply specifying your exact expectations, you remove the unpleasant cloud of doubt that can get in the way of workers' peace of mind and drive them towards burnout. Williams Yost suggests you,

Have a meeting, state the parameters clearly, and then be consistent. People watch the behavior of leaders like a hawk. If there’s even a whiff of inconsistency between what you told them and how you actually behave, they will go back to assuming they need to follow your technology schedule. So if you state, "You don’t need to respond to e-mails at night; I'll call you if anything is urgent," don't penalize someone who missed an important issue because they didn’t answer an e-mail, but were never called.

Check out the complete Fast Company piece for more tips on what to consider when setting your policy and on how to revise if your needs change. There are other resources available for founders and bosses determined to tackle this issue as well. An analysis of data on how plugged in, mobile workers are coping with work demands by Dr. Carolyn Axtell of the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield offers advice for companies hoping to help workers avoid burnout. Among her tips:

• Control. The more workers get to decide how to manage their off-job time, the better so, for example, if you have a massive project looming that will require work outside the usual nine-to-five, try to give employees as long a lead time as possible to allow them to meet that deadline in a way that works best for them.
• Tools. Companies should also "ensure that employees have the right resources to do their job and have the necessary support to overcome obstacles," says the analysis. If your employees need a gadget, training or a team happy hour to blow off steam, provide it.
• Boundaries. Like Williams, Axtell suggests managers explicitly encourage workers to set firm boundaries and find time to recharge. Bosses should, "encourage employees to maintain a boundary between home and work and not work excessive hours."

How do you help your staff maintain work-life boundaries and avoid burnout?

It's no secret that great people build great companies, so it's baffling that more companies don't treat recruiting as the most important job.

A five-piece mariachi band, a cake with a hidden message, and more food than you'd believe, were all delivered to our office—resume in tow—in an attempt to help an applicant stand out from the other 2,000 monthly hopefuls who apply for a job here. People do crazy things like this because they, with all their hearts, want to work at Red Frog Events.

It's no secret that great people build great companies, so it's baffling to me that more companies don't treat recruitment as the single most important department. Red Frog has treated it this way from day one with spectacular results: We currently hire just one out of every 750 applicants.

How to attract great applicants:

How to interview them:

How to refine your process:

After the interview is over, don't stop interviewing. We hire people to a four-month contract position to evaluate how they perform in real situations, assess their cultural fit and see if they have a hint of jerk in them. After four months, we've historically hired around 20 percent of those put on contract.

It works. We don't miss. Using these hiring practices, we've yet to have someone leave.

After 6,000 cover letters and four months, Alexa, Caitlyn, Emma, Liz, Makenzie, Matt, Megan, and Terry were hired last month. I already know they're some of the most passionate and talented people in the world.

Welcome to the family.

Mistakes are a great way to learn. But why not skip the pain and suffering yourself--at least on these 9 mistakes.

Making mistakes is a great way to learn. Making mistakes is also not particularly fun.

It's a lot more fun to avoid them entirely.

Here are some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs—and businesspeople in general—tend to make:

1. Think of a plan as an end result. Say you’re agonizing over a business plan; somewhere along the way you've forgotten your goal is to actually start the business. Establish goals, create long-range plans, make to-do lists, and get going.

Most successful people are solid planners and excellent adapters. Get started so you can start adapting.

2. Assume style indicates substance. Logos, identity packages, killer wardrobes, eccentric work spaces... none of those matter if you can't deliver. Businesses are built on go, not show. Your business or personal style will create a memorable brand as long as you deliver.

Just be you. And get to work.

3. Think of business as all-you-can-eat. Ideas are thrilling. Opportunities are tantalizing. Dreams are exciting.

Great, but execution is everything. Take on too much and you do few things well. Keep getting distracted by the latest trend and your best ideas get ignored.

Check out everything on the business menu, but only select a few items at a time. Don't be afraid, or have too big an ego, to start small. Small is almost always your start-up friend.

4. Underestimate the time required. Nothing ever goes as quickly as you predict; in a start-up, time passes in reverse dog years. Create timelines but always factor in scenarios and sensitivities. If you don't reach your estimated sales in six months, what will you do?

An estimate is theoretical. Plans are more concrete. Know what you will do if your timelines are wrong. They will be.

5. Assume perfection is required. Trying to create a product that meets every conceivable customer need? Sooner is almost always better than later, so do a Tim Gunn and make it work. Get to market and then start refining your products or services based on actual customer feedback.

6. Underestimate the money required. It’s easy to underestimate cost when you let hope creep into your calculations. A start-up, no matter how bootstrapped, always has unforeseen costs. Just because you really want something to work out doesn't mean it will magically cost less.

Apply sensitivities and create plans in case your estimates are wrong. Just like your time estimates, they will be.

7. Give up too soon. Success rhymes with excess for good reason: Entrepreneurs who succeed do so because they work harder and longer. Before you give up, take a step back and decide whether additional effort is all that's required to overcome roadblocks or hurdles.

Sometimes it's not the business or the market. Sometimes it's you. Never quit until you’re sure it’s not you.

8. Stop acting silly. If you’re like me your favorite childhood stories involve something stupid you did. (How else would I know the right mixture of sulfur and saltpeter will burn hot enough to turn a Tonka truck into a glop of metal?)

Business is serious enough. Every once in awhile, do something silly. Silly is memorable. Silly makes you feel like a kid again. Laughing at yourself will make the toughest day a lot easier.

9. Adopt expectations. We are all influenced to some extent by what other people think about us. But what do you want? What really matters to you? Live your life based on the opinions of others and you live their lives, not your own.

What matters most is what matters most to you. Always be sure you're living your life. It’s the only one you get.

Want to hire top-tier young talent for your lower-profile business? Don't think you can just show up on campus senior year and compete, warns one small company.

Everyone knows the competition for top-tier tech and business talent is intense, with some companies going to extraordinary lengths to bring the brightest minds to their organizations. So if you're not as well known as marquee brands like Facebook and Google, do even have a hope of attracting the best Ivy League-caliber grads to your firm?

Yes, answers one small, relatively unknown firm that's managed this feat. But there's one hitch: you might not like what it takes. Applied Predictive Technologies is an Arlington, Virginia-based company that that sells business analytic software to clients such as Guitar Center and Walgreens. Founded in 1999, with an impressive client list and a handful of offices scattered around the world, it is hardly a stealth start-up. But it's not exactly as sexy as the super-hyped kings of Silicon Valley, either. So how does APT mange to snag talent from MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and other top schools, talent that's also being wooed by bigger name companies?

With a whole lot of effort, says Cathy Baker, APT's senior vice president of marketing and administration. "You can't just show up on campus their senior year and hope that they choose to pay attention to you. They really are—despite the unemployment rate—being wooed by many top companies," she explained. But it can be done. It just demands a long and laborious process.

"We think of it as a marketing campaign that begins as soon as people step foot on the campuses where we recruit," she says, noting the company only targets students with stellar academic credentials who have shown clear evidence of leadership. MBAs are less in favor than exceptional undergrads. "We found that hiring straight out of undergrad we capture the capabilities that these top students have right as they're entering the workplace. It is an opportunity for us to develop them within our own walls and we feel like the payback for an undergrad is there in a way that the MBA has historically not been for us."

APT is also fussy about which campuses are worthy of its attention. "We deliberately keep a smaller focus of target schools, so that we can build relationships with students from when they enter as freshman to the point that they graduate," she says. But looking through resume books, consulting alumni networks and generally poking around to know which students make the most attractive targets for recruitment is only the very beginning of APT's efforts:

We have a series of outreach that occurs in terms of personal phone calls and other kinds of campaigns that are sent to these individuals to build awareness of who APT are since we are a smaller company. Through those points of contact we further winnow down who we think is a good fit for us and identify them to join us for internship programs in their sophomore or junior year with a hope that they then convert to join us full-time. This last internship program had a near 100 percent return rate.

We've done a bunch of things on campuses, participating in hackathons at University of Pennsylvania. We run a StarCraft tournament at MIT and Harvard. StarCraft happens to intersect a lot with top candidates on the engineering side, so that's not an overt recruiting pitch, it's more: 'Come hang out and get to know us in a more low-key way.' We hold workshops on how to conduct case interviews that appeal to business consultants. We have one-on-one coffee chats with top candidates, where our current employees in the roles that these folks would be interested in go on campus and talk about what they do on a day-to-day basis. We have dinners on campus, again for identified candidates even before they receive an offer, that are an opportunity for them to get to know us.

Think that sounds like a lot of effort? We haven't even gotten to the contact prospects get with senior executives like the CEO and CTO, or the competitive salaries and perks. All of this is designed to showcase the firm's competitive advantage to candidates—the fascinating work and the ability to make an impact straight out of school.

"There are different reasons why each of them find a place like APT attractive, but I think not wanting to be employee 10,001 or whatever the numbers are at Google and McKinsey, is clearly part of it," she says. "They have a chance to help drive the success of our company in a way that's just not feasible at a larger organization."

Recently recruited staff members agree. "The prospect of being able to make important product design decisions early on in my career was enough to sell me," says Briana Whelan, a University of Virginia computer science and mathematics major who joined APT as an associate product manager despite being recruited by Google, Microsoft, and KPMG. She also greatly appreciated APT's willingness to move interviews to accommodate deadlines set by other firms. Greg Siegel, another recent grad who was also in the process of being recruited by Google, agrees that the work was more important to him than name recognition.

"The minute you walk in the door, you're encouraged to think about these high-level issues," Siegel says of APT and reports that when it came to recruiting him, "the amount of effort was staggering in comparison to other firms." More well known companies, he was frustrated to find, "assume you’ll join based on name brand alone."

"You should be thinking about this year-round," concludes Baker. "It's not: 'Oh my gosh! People are graduating from school. Let's go up and try to extend some offers and it's going to pay off.' You really have to get to know who those top talent individuals are and invest in a way that involves the entire company, not just a couple of HR or recruiting professionals. My advice is to really put the time in because the pay back is certainly there."