Vladimir Chen | a Blog of an entrepreneur

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Yanik Silver, whom I consider my mentor, has spent some time on the Necker Island together with other great minds. On the way back home he came up with 34 rules for entrepreneurs. In particular, I like these 8 rules:

7) Create your business around your life instead of settling for your life around your business.

Consistently and constanntly force yourself to focus on the “critically few” proactive activities that produce exponential results. Don’t get caught up in a minutia & bullshit.

10) Get your idea there as fact as possible even if it’s not quite ready by setting must-hit deadlines. Let the market tell you if your have a winner or not. If not - move on and fail forward fast. If it’s got potential then you can make it better.

15) Measure and track your marketing activities so that you know what’s working and what’s not.

18) Keep asking the right questions to come up with innovative solutions ‘How?’ ‘What?’ ‘Where?’ ‘Who else?’ ‘Why’ open up possibilities.

19) You will never have a perfect business and you will never be totally “Done”. Deal with it.

33) Get a life! Business and making money are important but your life is the sum total of your experiences. Go out and create experiences & adventures so you can come back renewed and inspired for your next big thing.

34) Give back! Commit to taking a % of your company’s sales and make a difference. It this becomes a habit like brushing your teeth pretty soon the big checks with lots of zeros won’t be scary to write. If you think you can’t donate a percentage of your sales simply raise your price.