17 ms·

No One Told Me What Being an Entrepreneur Really Means

63 points by chris100 16y ago

charlesju 16y ago
Why wouldn't you hire someone to do this for you? Seems like a waste of your time.
- thetrumanshow 16y ago
  A friend of mine just outsourced this very task. They sent the emails in bulk, and most (if not all) of the company names were wrong. Ouch. Things like this really kill your chances to have a good start out of the gate. I think it's better to micro-manage your customer contacts.
- NEPatriot 16y ago
  "Getting out of the building" is not a task you want to outsource. Speaking to initial potential customers is critical to the start up and must involve the founders. Once you establish product/market fit outsiders can come into play.
  - charlesju 16y ago
    The process of sending messages and setting up the initial contact is pretty mechanical, should be easy to outsource if you're smart about it. Of course, the CEO should close the leads himself.
- nl 16y ago
  Quoting Steve Blank: Customer Development is the process of how you get out of the building and search for the model. Customer Development is designed so that you the founder(s) gather first hand experience about customer and market needs. It can’t be delegated. Let me say it again: Getting customer feedback can not be delegated. http://steveblank.com/2010/05/13/consultants-don%E2%80%99t-pivot-founders-do/ http://steveblank.com/2010/05/13/consultants-don%E2%80%99t-p...
JarekS 16y ago
Email is the easy part. Meetings and phone calls are the worst. I mean - they are if you've never done that before so often.
- leftnode 16y ago
  Yup, if you're a programmer (like most of us), transitioning into that role is very tough. You have to be very extroverted and it can be unsettling sometimes. I'd love to see some interviews with successful programmers turned CEO's/managers (but in smaller companies, not Bill Gates) to see how they managed it. Also, shouldn't you call people instead? Calls are generally more personal and harder to ignore than a random email from a stranger.
  - percept 16y ago
    I think you can find some interviews like that on Mixergy.
  - dpapathanasiou 16y ago
    Also, shouldn't you call people instead? Calls are generally more personal and harder to ignore than a random email from a stranger. I find calling is more effective, too. But I won't call someone I don't know unless I can get an introduction.
  - eande 16y ago
    Watch Paul Singh and you know how it is done http://mixergy.com/mailfinch-paul-singh-interview/ http://mixergy.com/mailfinch-paul-singh-interview/
    - AndrewWarner 16y ago
      Here's a direct link to the mp3: http://mixergy.com/wp-content/audio/Mixergy-MailFinch-Paul-Singh.mp3 http://mixergy.com/wp-content/audio/Mixergy-MailFinch-Paul-S...
- dpcan 16y ago
  I've managed to turn my company into a mostly email based business. I have had maybe 5 meetings all year this year in person, and a couple phone calls a week tops. I've been in business almost 10 years and the act of going to meetings and having phone conversations is still a major challenge for me. Biggest problem: I don't have time to think before I blurt something out when on the phone or in person. With email, I can craft my words, then even WAIT before I say them, think some more if needed, and I control my conversation rather than vamp and hope for the best.
patio11 16y ago
Different strokes for different folks, but I could count on one hand the number of business emails I've sent in the last four years that went to someone other than a customer, supplier, or "people I know well enough to invite out for coffee." This might be a weakness in my skillset, but I tend to think that outbound marketing is a very time-intensive proposition, and as a sole businessman time is something I can never really have enough of. I don't want to do anything that has to get over a spam filter, a low-conversion inbox scan, and then a low-conversion salespitch for it to positively affect my business. (And, it goes without saying, spam is right out.) I don't know what your personal threshold is for writing non-spammy email, but I personally can't put my hands on a keyboard and not type a hundred words. Even at ten emails a day, that is a thousand words. That could be an article, an interview, a blog post (that would be criticized for overlength), etc, etc. All things that I get to keep, that stay available on the public Internet, and that aren't strongly dependent on the reception of individual third parties. I'd much rather write the thousand words and pull some folks to me. After that, perhaps we could do email and/or coffee.
- dpapathanasiou 16y ago
  That works for you b/c your stuff is something an individual can find and buy/sign up for on your site. If you were producing something more complex, such as software for companies or organizations, you would need a different approach.
- mattmanser 16y ago
  But your product doesn't really suit that kind of marketing, your situation is very limited. Your product would actually become unprofitable if you had to spend face time convincing someone to buy it, most aren't. One of pg's articles mentions that the successful YC's are ones where one of the founders is always on the phone, contacting people. That is the reality for a lot of business. Bigger ticket items have to have some direct contact. Even trying out relatively cheap b2b software like redgate products gets direct emails (probably initially canned but I got a prompt human response to my reply to it). You will also find yourself in direct contact with Dell if you buy as a business.
jonpaul 16y ago
My comment on the blog: I disagree that emailing strangers makes you a entrepreneur. But, I do agree with the spirit of what he's saying that to be a successful entrepreneur you do have to step out of your comfort zone and contact those that you don't know.
edw519 16y ago
it’s just contacting people you don’t know to ask/beg for favors My take on "what being an entrepreneur really means" is 179 degrees from yours: I can't wait to contact people I don't know to share what I'm doing and how it can improve their lives. If you don't feel the same way, maybe you shouldn't be an entrepreneur. I regularly go to Tech Breakfasts, Chamber of Commerce meetings, industry dinners, dev groups, and network over coffee or beer just for the chance to talk about what I'm doing. I love doing this almost as much as writing the code itself. It gets me off my butt and away from my terminal and also gets valuable feedback from others. Coding in a vacuum is like trying to push cooked spaghetti through a straw. Getting away from my text editor and talking to others, regardless of method, completes the loop and improves the whole process. And anyway, I'm not writing it for myself. It's for them. They really need to know.
- mattmanser 16y ago
  Some people are natural sales people, some aren't. I've noticed that the guys really really good at selling don't even think about problems of a product or social barriers to contacting people and just do it. As I can't read their mind I'm not sure if it's a mindset they deliberately choose or just a different way of looking at life, but you definitely sound like one of those kind of people. Great trait to have, but not everyone has it. Doesn't mean you can't be an entrepreneur if you don't have it though.
  - edw519 16y ago
    I don't think it has anything to do with sales or selling. Are you passionate about your work? Obviously most of us are. We talk to each other here about it all the time. Do to any dev group or hacker hangout and it's hard to hear yourself think with all the chatter we share with each other about our work. Emailing, calling, or talking to civilians is the same thing. As soon as we think it's "selling", we set up a mental block that's no good for anyone. Just build a great product for others and share your passion about that product with them. Anyone can do it. In fact, most of us already are. Just be yourself, let others know how your work will benefit them, and let the "selling" become a byproduct of that process. It's much easier than many of us think if we just give it a chance.
bradleyland 16y ago
For me, being an entrepreneur has meant two long years of putting the other people in our company first (I'm talking paychecks here) while we bust our butts (along side everyone else) to build the company to profitability. When your income is on the line, you don't hesitate to ask for the sale. Not for a moment. Not if you "get it".
billswift 16y ago
There seem to be a lot of people here that apparently missed the point, so I am going to repeat the comment I added to the OP blog: He didn't say that 'sending lots of emails' makes you an entrepreneur - he said that is one thing that he has to do as an entrepreneur that he wasn't expecting. There was another post, I think about a year ago on HN, where a founder pointed out that he ended up cleaning the company's toilets until they could afford to hire a janitor. There are all kinds of jobs that need to be done for a business to function that many people don't realize beforehand.

63 points by chris100 16y ago

charlesju 16y ago

Why wouldn't you hire someone to do this for you? Seems like a waste of your time.

thetrumanshow 16y ago
A friend of mine just outsourced this very task. They sent the emails in bulk, and most (if not all) of the company names were wrong. Ouch. Things like this really kill your chances to have a good start out of the gate. I think it's better to micro-manage your customer contacts.
NEPatriot 16y ago
"Getting out of the building" is not a task you want to outsource. Speaking to initial potential customers is critical to the start up and must involve the founders. Once you establish product/market fit outsiders can come into play.
- charlesju 16y ago
  The process of sending messages and setting up the initial contact is pretty mechanical, should be easy to outsource if you're smart about it. Of course, the CEO should close the leads himself.
nl 16y ago
Quoting Steve Blank: Customer Development is the process of how you get out of the building and search for the model. Customer Development is designed so that you the founder(s) gather first hand experience about customer and market needs. It can’t be delegated. Let me say it again: Getting customer feedback can not be delegated. http://steveblank.com/2010/05/13/consultants-don%E2%80%99t-pivot-founders-do/ http://steveblank.com/2010/05/13/consultants-don%E2%80%99t-p...

JarekS 16y ago

Email is the easy part. Meetings and phone calls are the worst. I mean - they are if you've never done that before so often.

leftnode 16y ago
Yup, if you're a programmer (like most of us), transitioning into that role is very tough. You have to be very extroverted and it can be unsettling sometimes. I'd love to see some interviews with successful programmers turned CEO's/managers (but in smaller companies, not Bill Gates) to see how they managed it. Also, shouldn't you call people instead? Calls are generally more personal and harder to ignore than a random email from a stranger.
- percept 16y ago
  I think you can find some interviews like that on Mixergy.
- dpapathanasiou 16y ago
  Also, shouldn't you call people instead? Calls are generally more personal and harder to ignore than a random email from a stranger. I find calling is more effective, too. But I won't call someone I don't know unless I can get an introduction.
- eande 16y ago
  Watch Paul Singh and you know how it is done http://mixergy.com/mailfinch-paul-singh-interview/ http://mixergy.com/mailfinch-paul-singh-interview/
  - AndrewWarner 16y ago
    Here's a direct link to the mp3: http://mixergy.com/wp-content/audio/Mixergy-MailFinch-Paul-Singh.mp3 http://mixergy.com/wp-content/audio/Mixergy-MailFinch-Paul-S...
dpcan 16y ago
I've managed to turn my company into a mostly email based business. I have had maybe 5 meetings all year this year in person, and a couple phone calls a week tops. I've been in business almost 10 years and the act of going to meetings and having phone conversations is still a major challenge for me. Biggest problem: I don't have time to think before I blurt something out when on the phone or in person. With email, I can craft my words, then even WAIT before I say them, think some more if needed, and I control my conversation rather than vamp and hope for the best.

patio11 16y ago

Different strokes for different folks, but I could count on one hand the number of business emails I've sent in the last four years that went to someone other than a customer, supplier, or "people I know well enough to invite out for coffee." This might be a weakness in my skillset, but I tend to think that outbound marketing is a very time-intensive proposition, and as a sole businessman time is something I can never really have enough of. I don't want to do anything that has to get over a spam filter, a low-conversion inbox scan, and then a low-conversion salespitch for it to positively affect my business. (And, it goes without saying, spam is right out.) I don't know what your personal threshold is for writing non-spammy email, but I personally can't put my hands on a keyboard and not type a hundred words. Even at ten emails a day, that is a thousand words. That could be an article, an interview, a blog post (that would be criticized for overlength), etc, etc. All things that I get to keep, that stay available on the public Internet, and that aren't strongly dependent on the reception of individual third parties. I'd much rather write the thousand words and pull some folks to me. After that, perhaps we could do email and/or coffee.

dpapathanasiou 16y ago
That works for you b/c your stuff is something an individual can find and buy/sign up for on your site. If you were producing something more complex, such as software for companies or organizations, you would need a different approach.
mattmanser 16y ago
But your product doesn't really suit that kind of marketing, your situation is very limited. Your product would actually become unprofitable if you had to spend face time convincing someone to buy it, most aren't. One of pg's articles mentions that the successful YC's are ones where one of the founders is always on the phone, contacting people. That is the reality for a lot of business. Bigger ticket items have to have some direct contact. Even trying out relatively cheap b2b software like redgate products gets direct emails (probably initially canned but I got a prompt human response to my reply to it). You will also find yourself in direct contact with Dell if you buy as a business.

jonpaul 16y ago

My comment on the blog: I disagree that emailing strangers makes you a entrepreneur. But, I do agree with the spirit of what he's saying that to be a successful entrepreneur you do have to step out of your comfort zone and contact those that you don't know.

edw519 16y ago

it’s just contacting people you don’t know to ask/beg for favors My take on "what being an entrepreneur really means" is 179 degrees from yours: I can't wait to contact people I don't know to share what I'm doing and how it can improve their lives. If you don't feel the same way, maybe you shouldn't be an entrepreneur. I regularly go to Tech Breakfasts, Chamber of Commerce meetings, industry dinners, dev groups, and network over coffee or beer just for the chance to talk about what I'm doing. I love doing this almost as much as writing the code itself. It gets me off my butt and away from my terminal and also gets valuable feedback from others. Coding in a vacuum is like trying to push cooked spaghetti through a straw. Getting away from my text editor and talking to others, regardless of method, completes the loop and improves the whole process. And anyway, I'm not writing it for myself. It's for them. They really need to know.

mattmanser 16y ago
Some people are natural sales people, some aren't. I've noticed that the guys really really good at selling don't even think about problems of a product or social barriers to contacting people and just do it. As I can't read their mind I'm not sure if it's a mindset they deliberately choose or just a different way of looking at life, but you definitely sound like one of those kind of people. Great trait to have, but not everyone has it. Doesn't mean you can't be an entrepreneur if you don't have it though.
- edw519 16y ago
  I don't think it has anything to do with sales or selling. Are you passionate about your work? Obviously most of us are. We talk to each other here about it all the time. Do to any dev group or hacker hangout and it's hard to hear yourself think with all the chatter we share with each other about our work. Emailing, calling, or talking to civilians is the same thing. As soon as we think it's "selling", we set up a mental block that's no good for anyone. Just build a great product for others and share your passion about that product with them. Anyone can do it. In fact, most of us already are. Just be yourself, let others know how your work will benefit them, and let the "selling" become a byproduct of that process. It's much easier than many of us think if we just give it a chance.

bradleyland 16y ago

For me, being an entrepreneur has meant two long years of putting the other people in our company first (I'm talking paychecks here) while we bust our butts (along side everyone else) to build the company to profitability. When your income is on the line, you don't hesitate to ask for the sale. Not for a moment. Not if you "get it".

billswift 16y ago

There seem to be a lot of people here that apparently missed the point, so I am going to repeat the comment I added to the OP blog: He didn't say that 'sending lots of emails' makes you an entrepreneur - he said that is one thing that he has to do as an entrepreneur that he wasn't expecting. There was another post, I think about a year ago on HN, where a founder pointed out that he ended up cleaning the company's toilets until they could afford to hire a janitor. There are all kinds of jobs that need to be done for a business to function that many people don't realize beforehand.