What a week! Sorry I have neglected the updates as of late- a little over a week ago I came down with a hearty cough (among other things) that disrupted the schedule for a few days. I came in to work Tuesday- and I must’ve looked a little frightening because I was sent home around lunchtime. The office didn’t want to risk any sort of wide-spread contamination. Thinking I just had some sort of run of the mill cold, I came in Thursday morning (just a part-timer for the moment, finishing school next week!) to give it another go. I wasn’t considering going home until I saw the looks in the team’s faces…and was invited to go home and rest. Rich, Ron and I decided to do our edit meeting for the day over the phone. (It’s harder for germs to get through that way…) When I answered the phone, however, I couldn’t even vocalize a proper greeting. My pitiful little plight was met with the response, “Hang up. Get better. We’ll see you next week.”

I know what you’re thinking. Crazy, huh?

This got me thinking about one of the chapters in the book, Climb High, Sleep Low. Rich tells a story about a business trip to England he took to meet with his boss and mentor, Dr. Peter Horne. When summoned across the pond Rich’s life had reach maximum capacity, too full for leisure time, and even too full for family. When he arrived in Peter’s office, Peter told Rich something that has stuck with him: “You can replace anything in life. You can replace a job, a car, money, anything, but you can’t replace your health, your trust relationships, or your family.”

By and large, this advice fueled the entrepreneurial fire in Rich. He wanted and needed to create businesses that reflected this ideal- to make room for his family, to allow himself and the people he works with to be human beings, and to invest in his future health and happiness. This phone call last week shows that he has achieved that balance. My health mattered to them, as much as it did to me, as does finishing my education. Because Rich and Ron created this company together, they get to make the rules. And it just so happens that the rules allow for a cold every once in awhile and a hectic finals week, for which I am very grateful.

The trouble with this kind of a human office, quite truthfully, is that it can be taken advantage of. However, I don’t like to see it from that point of view. I would like to think that trust and respect for life events and priorities would lead team members to fill a higher sense of duty and encourage them to work to their best ability because of their integrity. (Novel idea, huh?) We’ve all had (or maybe some of you haven’t…lucky you) the kind of job where they make you “clock out” to use the bathroom and where you are expected to get through the day as long as you can be on your feet, regardless of how you feel. Yes, that kind of policy will illicit long hours and the fulfillment of duty- but isn’t it preferable to be treated like an adult, be allowed wiggle room for life, and work up to your potential because you want to? I think so.

When I first got to this office I took up residence at the front desk and was told to make it my own.  In my head, that meant organize it the way that I wanted and feel free to buy supplies (pen holders, calendars, etc.)  As the company (companies) grew, I was able to concentrate solely on writing and editing and a new admin- Shanna, moved into the front desk.  She was given the instruction to make it her own, as well, and to “de-sterilize” the office a bit.  Resultantly, we’ve got some classy touches here and there that make the front room look polished and professional- AND she decorates for holidays.

Rich and Ron talk about company culture quite a lot- and one thing I’ve heard them focus on is making sure that the team members are comfortable and have up-to-date equipment.  Sure, you can get the job done anywhere, with almost anything- but it can be a big motivator to provide an attractive environment and nice tools.  An even bigger motivator is to allow team members to make decisions and changes based on their preferences.  As the owner, do you really care what kind of plants or pictures hand in the entry way?  Perhaps, to a certain extent.  But consider the freedom and respect your team will feel as you let them exercise authority over their main work area.

Also: I bought a new laptop for school, and for ease of travel have been using it for work as well.  Rich had one of our engineers set up a VPN so I could access the file structure from school, home, or anywhere.  It was perfect, except I beginning to feel a bit of eyestrain trying to see everything on my small laptop.  I asked if we could hook up a bigger monitor and actually expected us to take one of the old monitors from our pile of computer parts so that I could see things more clearly.  Instead, Rich went out and bought a brand new SAMSUNG flat-screen- and when I hook my laptop up, I can drag things from screen to screen.  I might be a bit of a dork, but the ability to have two work surfaces for one computer was a little bit exhilarating for me.  It was a cool new toy, incredibly useful, and beyond my expectations.

Let me clarify: you do not need to try and “buy” your team members hard work, but it is a sign of respect and an invitation to make the task their own if you provide them with tools and freedoms necessary to do their job.

As an entrepreneur, it is your right and privilege to decide your company culture! Do you provide free food for your team? Do you set goals and rewards for individuals, and offer personal recognition? Maybe you’ll have office lunches more often than board meetings to discuss weekly or monthly agendas. Your business means what you want, how you want it.

Today our office is all going out to celebrate a birthday lunch with our executive admin, Shanna. Shanna and I have been asking Rich questions about differents forms of investment and savings accounts- and he said that we’d take some time at lunch to go over it a little more. Our company culture is one of openness, questions and answers, and goals and rewards. Rich and Ron have set it up as a place where we are all meant to contribute in our own area of expertise, but can also learn more about other aspects of what goes on around here, as well. As a result, we can all wear a few more hats, not to mention sound a little more knowledable on the phone.

We were huddled around the whiteboard for a couple minutes this morning when Rich burst out of his office exclaiming, “the fun has just begun!” A new venture is gaining momentum, and we spent a few minutes talking about the new task division, focus, and hopes for the next couple of months. He also shared his ultimate “dream” reward, a Lotus. There aren’t many offices where the converstaion between the owners and the team is so open and candid, but it’s our culture.

What will yours be?

Being so new in a fairly new company has made for a fun experience of finding a place to settle in. The environment here in the office though is completely conducive to such settling. Things are incredibly uplifting, and as Erin so perfectly put it when I asked her on my first day if she liked working here, “I have never been so respected in any job before”. I find out every day how true that statement is. I’m certain Erin or someone has written about the white board method before, but I will just add my newcomer opinion. Every couple of days we all stand in front of the big white board just down the hall and write a list of our goals. We categorize by A, B, and C according to priority, per instructions in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (an incredible book.) I feel like this is where a lot of the respect that Erin was referring to is shown. We can put any little thing we need to do up there, and it never feels like anyone’s tasks are more important than anyone else’s. And nothing beats that satisfaction of crossing something off your list. Yesterday Rich was at the board and almost crossed something off my list but stopped short and said to me, “Oh, I’ll let you do that, I know how good it feels to cross things off your own list”. Thank you, Rich. Nothing could be more true.

Each day here, Erin and I uncover new evidence supporting the theory that we are actually twins separated at birth. The newest discovery was made on Thursday when we both admitted to our lifelong dream of going on a hot air balloon ride. Immediately we went to Ron and suggested it (almost without believing it could even be considered) as the next reward for reaching some big office goals. Within the hour we were all at the board listing goals that we thought worthy of such a lofty reward (sorry, I couldn’t help myself with that pun opportunity.) So lo and behold, we are now working our way toward a hot air balloon ride in Park City.

The prospect of going on a balloon ride and actually checking something off my life To-Do list is more exciting than could be described. I came into work early this morning with my head just bursting with all of the things I need to get done–and more excited than ever to do them all. The level of motivation that the goals and rewards system creates in me is unlike anything I have ever felt. And the willingness of everyone in the office to work together to help everyone achieve their goals is a big part of that. There has not been a day yet that I have left feeling like I did not accomplish something, because here we treat every little thing we cross off that white board as one more step toward our goal. And with that hot air balloon ride at the end of the rainbow, I know Erin and I will be crossing things off as fast as we can. If only everyone in the world recognized the value of focusing so much on the positive. I bet we’d all be a lot more willing to put in our best all the time, in all aspects of life.

Which brings me to the last and most important lesson I’ve learned thus far working here…Rich and Ron really do know what they’re talking about. It is such a huge opportunity to work in an environment like the one they have created here, and I hope with the publishing of their book that there will be more offices like ours. Looks like balloons are not just for kids.

So! We’ve had a bit of hiatus here.  I’ve spent the past few weeks in the process of last-minute wedding preparations, actually getting married, and then a trip back home to my side of the world with my new husband.  As I walked back into the office yesterday, it felt like 2 days had gone by.  Really, it was more like 20.

When I left, we had just finished up with our first, big goal.  10 chapters of the book down, about the same in front of us.  Bootstrap Business is coming along.  Soon we’ll finish some planned updates to this site, including more information on the upcoming book.  You can look forward to some sneak peaks and also an opportunity to pre-order your copy!  Our main goal with bootstrapbusiness.org is to allow entrepreneurs to talk to each other.  Entering entrepreneurship on your own can be terrifying.  What if you had someone, or a group of “someones,” available to talk to and discuss difference choices with?  If you’ve had a lot of entrepreneurial experience, we’re sure you’ve got a lot to offer.  Conversation is key in entrepreneurship.  You need to ask good questions and listen to experienced answers.  Working here for the past few months, I’ve learned a lot about small businesses and entrepreneurship.  This blog, so far, has been my own discovery process as I work through the principles in the book and watch how this business grows and develops.  Our hope is that you will participate!  Ask questions, seek answers.  See what you can glean from the entrepreneurs around you.  It doesn’t matter if you are completely new to entrepreneurship or if you’ve been doing it forever- sometimes a fresh angle on something makes a big difference.

Today (once again) we had a bunch of bright, talented engineers in the office.  They have the skill set and the drive, but what they don’t have is business experience.   They let an amazing opportunity pass them by, and hardly realized what they had lost!  We all go through this as we begin our own businesses.  However, with more experienced people on your side, you can minimize the loss and the wasted time, and make sure your venture will make it.

What do you have to contribute?  Consider this a formal invitation to make this blog your own sounding board- to comment and leave your own ideas and questions.  Make sure to include links from your site so we know where you are coming from, and how we can get in touch with you!