"I CAN'T FAIL. I CAN'T GO BACK TO WORKING IN..." says the job board entrepreneur I talked to yesterday.
This determination reminded me strongly of my own attitude 11 years ago. I quit two jobs in a row after working in them only six months each. I told everyone I knew that I was starting a business and assumed that I was unemployable after that. I felt like failure was not an option.
This job board entrepreneur I talked with has an exceptional domain, years of experience in his industry, substantial experience building websites with inexpensive outsourced programming, the right personal circumstances and the drive to make his venture work.
His attitude reminded me of a story that Abraham Lincoln used to tell:
A man... had a small bull-terrier that could whip all the dogs of the neighborhood. The owner of a large dog which the terrier had whipped asked the owner of the terrier how it happened that the terrier whipped every dog he encountered. "That," said the owner of the terrier, "is no mystery to me; your dog and other dogs get half through a fight before they are ready; now, my dog is always mad!"
And this is the side of our business I really enjoy. There is no greed here, it's about wanting to fulfill one's destiny in life. It's about wanting to create something and say "this is my life's work". And it's about lifestyle. It's about the future of business and the Internet.
So put your heads down, stay focused and stay mad!
Dave Opton of ExecuNet pointed out a great post on Seth Godin's blog about staying power. Seth writes:
"I discovered a lucky secret the hard way about thirty years ago: you can outlast the other guys if you try. If you stick at stuff that bores them, it accrues. Drip, drip, drip you win.
It still takes ten years to become a success, web or no web."
And don't worry, 10 years will disappear in a flash.
I call my job board my "third kid". Even though I don't even own it myself any more, I still have a lot of personal connections to it. Building something from day one, and seeing so many people find value in it makes it even more compelling to succeed. Six years into it's existence, I'm less worried about my future. If the job board failed for some weird reason, I'd be more sad for the board than my own future.
**es** Evan, congratulations on your acquisition! That peace of mind must be a wonderful feeling... we will keep trying to get that through growth. -- Eric
I really liked the read about not turning back and pushing forward. I think not only with job boards but with specific recruiting verticals, the time it takes as well as the investment is worth the end. If you love what you do and do it right, people tend to notice. Repeat customers and satisfied candidates, making them a solid support foundation letting you know you are making a difference. Thanks for the read and great BIO. I was not aware you had done all those things, nice job and keep up the good work.
**es** thanks Jason!
I don't buy into the domain name being that important. It's just a matter of marketing it correctly. I could have crapsite.com, maybe like monster.com, and if you market it correctly, peeps will come, and click. I have a pile that do really well. Some have great names others not so great. They both do the same nice business.
**es** Robert, you may not have done the same experiments that I have. I have also listened to entrepreneurs worth tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars explain how great domains make the difference.
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