A big hello to everyone. It has been a while since I have posted, but I am hoping to post more in the coming week. Remember, it is both the National Diabetes Month and the National Lung Cancer Month. More on this later. Last week, I fell behind my email and everything else, as it seems common nowadays.

A video on jobs - on or off topic?

Combing through and cleaning up, I came across an interesting video. I am not sure how accurate it is, and I am not sure if it is on-topic or off-topic. Personally, I feel that there are some lessons to be learned here, for any kind of entrepreneur, or for folks who are interested in real social change and not simply "mob by association".

First, the video

To preface, this video is very cynical and the Southern drawl appears to be accentuated to the point of entertainment, but the video provides you with examples ranging from the mundane to the bizarre, talking about how local and state governments hinder start-ups and the creation of jobs!

Watch it here:

Some thoughts for the entrepreneur

1. Let's go with my golden rule. Do not believe or trust anyone wholeheartedly. There are too many organizations out there that are extremely politicized.

2. As an entrepreneur, you can sit there and wish that all the paperwork and regulations would go away. However, you need to think in terms of what you can do in the near future and over time. In the near future, as you burn through precious, yet limited resources, you should make sure your success is not impeded by bureaucracy.

If you have a choice of location, then try to find out where you can locate your organization. If not, focus on working within your region's legal maze.

Get help, not rhetoric

Starting up? In most places, you are not alone. You can choose what you will have - rhetoric or real help. Nowadays, I see hundreds of formal and informal organizations crop up everywhere - ranging from meaningful non profits to informal online groups. Not all the advise you hear is right, relevant or good, but you can filter through the messages with enough effort. I have posted about a couple in the past and as and when I find relevant groups I will post them here. I am sure a web search will turn up more resources elsewhere as well.

3. The long term - what can you do?

Whether you succeed or fail, there is something that happens every 2 - 4 years (and if you are in other parts of the world, the message about bureaucracy still holds) - we call them elections. Make sure that you send a very clear message to your Congressperson, the state legislators, the mayors and councilors that your vote and the vote of like-minded entrepreneurs hinges on them making some real changes to "business as usual". This is so much better than empty rhetoric!

4. Who changes the world?

For every Gandhi (and yes, I have immeasurable respect for him) there are silent masses that followed them, motivated them and supplemented them to move the world forward. So it is indeed entrepreneurs and individual businesses that dictate change, not governments small or large or the parties that steal votes from them...so go out there and make those changes!

5. Read, read and read some more. This is the best way to keep yourself up to date on all that is going on around you - new law, new regulations and even stuff that people pull because they are insensitive to your difficulties. Since you are a small business owner, you don't have an army of lawyers to identify what affects you and what doesn't. So, prepare!

Reference:

http://ij.org/citystudies