On my way to starting up, I realized that partners can make a very large impact on your success. However, there is risk that this impact can be similar to an asteroid hurtling through the atmosphere and pounding you in the behind. So while the support and extra ideas make partnering up on ventures appealing, here are some things to consider first.

1. Consider this person’s character. How does he work? What are his values? Really understand the person and determine if he’ll be a good match. Just because you’re friends doesn’t mean you might be at each others throats in a month. This is hard I think for many to do, but the effort is worth it.
2. Trust - Is this person trustworthy? Does he have an honest character with good solid integrity? Getting screwed by a business partner ranks up there as a “crap that totally sucked” moments.
3. What happens if you or your partner gets into debt? If either of you are financially unstable at some point, what will happen to the business. While you can’t predict if this will happen, it’s good to think about and have a plan in place.

Check out an article by AllBusiness.com for an even bigger list. Past these considerations, if you do decide to move forward with a partnership, get everything in writing. If everything works out, great, but in case shit flies, it’s good to have a written plan and reference in place. This agreement should be live, meaning it should be updated as situations change for the partnership. The agreement should be fair for all parties and should reflect the effort, contributions, and risk each partner takes on.

There will always be risk, but thinking things through and having agreements in place at the start will minimize nastiness that might arise later down the road.

Many wish they had their own business once the daily drag of corporate life eats away a good chunk of their being. As such a person I want others who are in the same situation to prepare well before taking the jump. Since I’m still in process (not completely insane..yet), I can only offer what I’ve bumped into so far.

First, be prepared and understand you will lose current benefits like health insurance and 401K. Unless of course you didn’t have it anyway, in which case you’re a step there already. Health insurance is quite expensive, so make sure you can swing it.

Also be aware of what behind-the-scenes requirements your business will come with. For example, what licenses might you need? Will you need a certain insurance for something unique about the business (stuntman dying from being impaled by blunt object insurance, for instance)? How will you hire employees? This behind the scenes stuff requires a lot of research; know the business well before you start. Become an expert.

Finally, what is your revenue model? This is very important but it seems many don’t even consider it. There seems to be the thought floating around that if you do the business and work hard the money will come. Hard work is great for your work ethic, but if you don’t have a revenue model you’re likely to crash and burn. To start it helps to create a model of the business, and figure out costs, prices, and profits. This model will allow you to play with inputs to see how it affects the business. A lot of times this stuff isn’t intuitive, so making the model really helps you make fact based decisions.

These are just some of the foundations to starting. I’ll update as I progress; if anyone has thoughts on this please post in the comments. Best of luck! FREEDOMM!!!

Whether it be your family or newly acquired family (e.g., wedding, adoptions, abductions), it is common to eventually have someone in your family who just drives you insane. As I often get reminded, homicide is highly frowned upon illegal in this country and usually the person is not worth the angst. So before you whip up the rat poison margarita mix, take a breather and think about it. Something I read once really hits it on the (stupid) head -

For most people, dealing with annoying relatives or in-laws is like cleaning the toilet. It’s not something you want to do, but something you have to do.

Sometimes the situation is worsened if this pile of annoying is your spouse’s family. Your significant other may be the best most loving person in the history of man kind, but somehow they manage to be related to hell spawn. I’ve found it helps to always keep in mind that it is all temporary. The shithead leaving trash all over the place? The trash will get picked up and their poor hygiene will get them eventually. Maybe they’re eating all your snacks that you try so hard to hide. Eh, they’ll be gone soon, and your stash will once again be holy and safe. Hey, maybe you’re contributing to making them super fat..REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD.

Get very good at extracting yourself from any situation. This will come in very handy when you get so annoyed that your left hand reaches for the candlestick. Getting away from a sticky situation will give you time to breathe and think, and usually just let it go.

Many guides and articles online about the issue ultimately propose that you spend alone time with the
public disturbance. I however, tend to disagree. Once past a certain point of annoying, alone time can be catastrophic. I am in the standing that the best way to go is to try and make yourself laugh at the issue and put enough space to not let any issues erupt. Limit the contact, increase the breathing. And remember, no rat poison.

On my way to buy crap I didn’t need the other day, I tailgated a car that happened to have a great bumper sticker. All it had on it were the words, “It’s all Temporary.” That really hit me and made a lot of things click. Like when you’re trying to first ride a bike, and you keep falling on your ass, then all of a sudden you’re charging forward in a wobbly line. Kind of like that, but more useful.

A lot of times, we all get caught up with work and life stressors, and it gets us frustrated, stressed, and shortens our life. Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits are for stress related problems. Globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed. While stress is useful in a fight-or-flight scenario, I find that most of the time I get worked up about something REALLY stupid (or someone really stupid). Seeing this bumper sticker put it all in its place. It’s all temporary. If you think about it, these three simple words make a lot of sense. It’s a common idea in Buddhism, and something that I’ve forgotten over the years. If some situation has you stressed out, just realize and understand that it’s temporary. It’ll be over in a few days, weeks, whatever, so really in the grand scheme of things it’s no big deal. Conversely, if it’s something good, also realize and understand that it’s all temporary so you should enjoy it and cherish it.

If you can get into that frame of mind, I find that it calms you down and makes difficult situations go down easier. While I still haven’t been able to stop all stress in my life, keeping these three words in my mind have helped tremendously.

So last week my friends and I decided to visit the Animal Rescue spur of the moment. We’ve been following a super long detour to get around some major highway construction (great job PDOT..great job) and were feeling and bit loopy. Immediately after parking in their minuscule parking lot, we saw a new intake German Shepherd in their outdoor area, looking dejected as homeless dogs tend to. Pulls at the heart, no? If that wasn’t enough, we walked in to see the rest of the dogs. Rows of dogs, locked up in concrete cages, with a blanket over a formed plastic bed. Then we came upon Halle, a 5month old Saint Bernard Great Dane mix. Sad, but full of puppy spirit, and great looking too. If we hadn’t left at that point I would have had another dog in the house. This situation should sound pretty familiar. But then I thought..why are there so many dogs in shelters? It sucks!
Read More

This post is the next in my How to Deal series (the previous being on dealing with bad performance reviews). As we ride past 25 and 30 is visible down the road, we start to get these feelings of aging. No, not the need for medication for the stir in the pants, but some mentality changes. For me, it’s been about physically weakening, views on taking risks, growing up, and even a tad on mortality. I know we’re not on the cusp of total decrepitude, but it’s something worth thinking about.
Read More

Buy or Rent? Rent or Buy? It seems everyone you ask gives you some different spin on this, and no one seems to know for sure. I’ve heard a lot of “it’s a great investment..renting is just wasting money.” However, given the current housing market and economy, this may not be the best advice to follow.

In this month’s GQ, there was a pretty insightful article on home buying. If you calculate it, it turns out this whole “equity” and “good deal” thing is a total sham! If you have a giant stash, then sure, buying a home can be a good deal, but otherwise, you may want to think about it a bit more.

A good place to start is the New York Times online rent-versus-buy calculator. With it you can plug in the numbers such as size, zoning, rent, cost of houses, etc..and it will tell you how long you have to live in the house before the costs even out. Depending on your location, the calculator might surprise you. It’s a pretty well written light article and easy to read, so go grab a copy of the Feb GQ and read it. It’s the one with Rachel Bilson on the cover. Yes, there are pictures. Hooya hoo hoos.

Sabbaticals can be a great way to revitalize yourself, especially in today’s hectic go-go-go working society. However, it can be tricky to pull off since taking such a big break from work has a few risks. Considerations include continuation of health benefits, pause in usual income, and resuming work after the break. If planned correctly, sabbaticals can be a great way to refresh your mind and gain new perspectives that can potentially help you once you get back to work.
Read More

STAY CALM. Most important from the get-go is to stay calm. If you spaz out you’ll most likely end up doing something really stupid that can come around and screw you (yeah..you know where). Almost everyone gets at least one bad review in their careers, so stay calm, and see how to deal.
Read More

Many people have an interest in starting their own business. Either it be from a strong entrepreneur spirit, or you’re just sick of working for your belligerent boss, many consider the prospects of leaving the supposed rat race. Being an entrepreneur indeed has its benefits, but many do not see the not so cheery extras that come with working for yourself.
Read More