I was on some entrepreneurial forums this morning reading over some concerns that people have as they maintain a full-time “job” while startin’ up a startup on the side. Most of them spoke to sleep (or lack thereof), commitment and effort they are able to give their day job, and enough focus and energy for their venture.

As I was perusing the comments and wondering what my experience offered by way of an answer I overheard Rich telling Shanna a story about his kids. Rich has always encouraged his children to become business minded. As a response to their Dad’s success with websites Rich’s sons started 2tieatie.com with the intent to learn how to generate a profitable website. The profits will go to a couple of places, mainly their college funds and their family’s humanitarian effort in Nepal. As they reviewed their traffic this weekend they were a bit disappointed by the results. When Rich asked them what to do his eleven year old said,

“Let’s growl at it!”

Well, in Christiansen language “growling at it” means buckling down, gritting your teeth, and MAKING something happen. And that’s what they did. They had a meeting to discuss strategy. Rich’s sons came up with things that Rich would never had thought of, include chain emails and youtube and every other internet related option at a teenagers disposal. The traffic has more than doubled.

So many people are right on the cusp of starting their own business or finally being free from their corporate ties- but how do you make sure that your plans come to fruition? Well- growl at it! There are solutions! One post I read said that a man moved closer to work, saving him about 3 hours every day. Now that might not seem like a lot to you- but when you work a 9-5 and then go home to your venture to find a full inbox- 3 extra hours is looking pretty good.

Look at the resources available to you- maybe it really is as simple as going viral on the internet. Maybe you need to schedule a lunch with a solid contact. Maybe you just need to put in a little more time. There are more opportunities waiting for you than you realize. You just need to hunker down and give it a good growl.

A special emphasis is given throughout the book, and here in the office, on priorities. Rich and Ron believe whole-heartedly in the idea of always keeping priorities straight throughout the entrepreneurial roller coaster. Life is not constant, and never will be. But our priorities should be. There will always be something else that we could do, another opportunity or responsibility that can come up, that can cause us to push the important people and things into the background. Often we think it is just temporary, but many times it can become a permanent negligence. Especially in the world of entrepreneurship where so many sacrifices have to be made, it is so important that there are certain things we are never willing to sacrifice. For Rich and Ron, these things include the safety and security of their families, their relationships with their spouses, and very importantly, and frequently neglected in our world today, their relationships with their children. They are both so intimately involved in their family’s lives, and no matter what happens at work, continue to keep those relationships strong.
I learned personally the importance of this concept this last week, as I lost my cousin in a tragic car accident. She was only twenty-two years old, and was returning to Utah after spending Thanksgiving with her family in Seattle. The loss of someone we love seems to always cause us to re-evaluate our lives and our priorities. Seeing a life cut short so unexpectedly has made me reflect on my life, and truly face the fact that I may have neglected relationships, goals, and many things I enjoy. And what do I sacrifice these things for? It seems always to be something that is only temporarily important, but that takes priority. Maybe I don’t see an old friend because I have to study for a test. Or I have put off spending time with my brother and sister because I feel too stressed with work. As I have reflected over the last few days, the most important thing I have realized is that it should not take a loss so great for us to see the important things more clearly. We should not regret that we did not spend more time with someone only after we have lost them.
As Rich and Ron discuss in the book, the goal of entrepreneurship should not just be making money. In life we need to have a drive for the things we do. When we have pure motives for our actions, such as desiring to be successful in order to provide security to our family, or in order to participate in humanitarian causes, our most important relationships will not be sacrificed, because they are the reason we work so hard. The death of someone so close to me will never be easy to understand, but it has helped me to think about my motives for doing the things I put my time into. I have learned how important it is that I commit to keeping my priorities, no matter what comes up. The right priorities shouldn’t just be important when we have time for them to be.

Web design doesn’t only happen in between the hours of 8 and 5 on weekdays around here. Rich and his kids make it a family affair by designing some sites of their own. The most recent Christiansen family project has been going on for about six months, with brainstorming meetings on Sunday mornings. Their website is 2tieatie.com, a step-by-step guide to tying any kind of tie you can imagine, from the classic windsor to the complicated bow tie and a few you may never even have heard of. But how to tie a tie isn’t the only thing the website teaches. There are tips on how to buy a tie, clean a tie, get wrinkles out of a tie, and anything else you could need to know about tie ownership. The best part about the website is that the revenue from it goes to a good cause: half to orphan girls in India, and half to their college savings. Their website project is a new spin on family togetherness, and Rich’s young sons have proven themselves ahead of their years in technology and creativity as they work on the site. For more information, visit the official site www.2tieatie.com, and read the full press release and maybe learn a few new ways to tie your tie.

In a section of Bootstrap Business entitled “The Corporate Myth” Rich and Ron discuss reality vs. mythology. Do you stay with your corporate job because it’s more “stable?” Here’s an interesting fact for you. According to the US Department of Labor MLS stats running from 1997 until last month, nearly 175,000 business with more than 50 employees conducted mass layoffs. 19 million people sought unemployment insurance. Here’s the point: If the fact that your job is more stable than your dream venture is the only thing keeping you from jumping on the entrepreneurial bandwagon, make sure you have your facts straight. Maybe it’s time to go for it!

When and how to enter entrepreneurship full time is an incredibly important decision. Getting the timing wrong could really limit how long you get to run your own venture. The entrepreneurial world has the tendency to kick you in the butt a little before you’re able to get going at a good clip. For some people, this kick gets them going faster. For others, it lands them on the side of the road, out of the race, and wishing they had never left the safety of home. Will you last through the startup costs and the trial period?

Honestly, the corporate world might be the perfect place for some of us. You’ve got a level of buffer allowing limited accountability, limited decision making (don’t we all know a few people who love that), and, most likely, a lot of people and a lot of money to work with. Also, perhaps your spouse or significant other doesn’t like the idea of a grow-it-yourself business. Nothing can the kill the satisfaction of following a dream like an unhappy, tense home. There are a lot of variables to take into consideration.

Also, it simply might not be the right time, yet. Bootstrapping your own business can be a little expensive, and there are always bills to pay at home, as well. Nurturing your venture at night and on the weekends will allow you to still bring in enough money to keep afloat, and get yourself set up before jumping in head first. This will be a real test of your mettle. If you can hold down a 9-5 job AND build your own business, I’m willing to bet that you’re committed to that venture. You’ll know pretty quick if the entrepreneurial life is for you, or if you should stay with your day job.

I’m not trying to be an entrepreneurial buzz kill, but here’s the point.  If you want to own a company, it’s worth it to do it right.  If you don’t have the determination or patience or diligence to wait as long as you need to for the right moment and then the temerity to act without hesitation with it’s time, your venture will be short lived.  On the other hand, if you do have these qualities, nothing can keep you from success.

As I’m feeling the summer bug myself this week, here’s an article by Jeff Cornwall on downtime. From what I see online sometimes, people seem to think that the entrepreneurial life is about a “relaxed lifestyle.” That’s not the kind of entrepreneurship I’m witnessing in this office. A really relaxing venture that doesn’t take up to much of your time during the week might just end up with you needing something “supplemental” on the weekends. For example, take Yaro Starak. He’s got free time enough to watch a DVD in the afternoon and to take his dog for a walk- but needs to keep a weekend job for “grocery money/rent.” Entrepreneurs DO have the flexibility to determine their own vacation schedules, prep work just needs to be done up front. Jeff offers some good tips on how to get it together and get out of town.