Hiring People For My Startup? Not Part Of The Fantasy.

Every time I followed my ideas, I never thought about the whole picture. If my idea turned into something that people would want, then I might need to hire people to help me build a company. Well, that never entered my mind. Hire someone? No, not in the fantasy of the idea at all.

The Idea Fantasy Is Just That
A fantasy without all the intricate details of how to mass produce the product, get it to the customers, yeah, sign on the dotted line to be a startup, when you wake up out of the fantasy.

The day came, when I needed to hire help. Yet I was still in the unstable ground of my startup, not having a cash flow, not making money, yet needing help. How do I hire someone and tell them "I can't pay you anything" uh-huh or "I can pay you a little here and a little there" that one works just about as good as the other one. Okay people here is the job posting: New Startup looking for someone who will work countless hours for no pay. Someone who likes to create, devople and discover. Someone who loves tech, the internet, mobile, apps, design, and having no social life. Oh yeah, it's a really great job by the way! So please apply. : - )

I Started Seeking Hiring Help
I knew it would take a special kind of person, who had the special kind of circumstances to be able to work for me. That kind of person is super hard to find. People need to get paid to live. You have rent, automobile gas, insurance, internet connection, cell phone charges, heat and electric, and some people have families to support. Virtually no one can work for no pay, except the founders. The founders always seem to find a way.

I have managed to bump into a few potential hires. Now, I have a problem, because, I've never been a boss, I've never had to hire someone or fire someone. How do I judge them? How do I decipher their code? Are they someone who who can see my vision, or are they someone who pretends just to get a job? Are they seeking cash just to stay alive, or are they seeking a quality of life, and cash is only the means to quite the bill collectors? 

Judging Others
To be placed in the position of judging another is so very hard for me. It's been quite shocking to me to be frank. I thought all people were just like me. Hard working, never giving up, give way more then you get paid for, never be late, outshine everyone with a smile, and go way overboard to care for your customer. Hmmm, it seems like, no one is like me. This makes me sad. 

As kind as I am, I have been used. Yep, I let these people who say they want to work for me, basically con me and take my money. The very little cash I had left to make my startup go. I gave it to them in hopes they would give me what they promised. Yet they had seen that cash as only a means to end their agony, not as a means to build a gift for humanity. 

It's Not My Fault They Are....
Yet I don't blame them solely, I blame myself. Because I have no skills in hiring people. I think every person is great and has potential. Then when I have to see the truth about them, it hurts me. The truth was, they only want money and to satisfy themselves. They are not concerned with helping me build a company, they are not concerned with helping others. Yes, they truly are all consumed with themselves. It's really sad. 

It's A Catch 22
Yeah, we all have bills to pay. But when you agree to do something for another person you should always give them more worth then what they pay you. That's my philosophy. It doesn't hurt me at all to give the countless jobs I have had every bit of my soul. I show up early, I always show up happy and with a smile. I always give every patient (customer) my everything. I am being paid to be there and to do a job. Not a so so job, not a lousy job, but a more than they pay for, job. This is how I live my life. Giving way more than I'm paid for, because to see another worker slack and make excuses for not being kind to another, for not doing the job they are paid for, to see the lazy worker who hates their job, and would hate any job, well, to see that kind of person is to see a self concerned person. That's not what I want to be.

Step Out Of Yourself And Help Others
You can do that every time you show up to the job you don't like. By being the best at that job, then anyone. By being the kindest at that job than anyone. You can help others in every job you have, by being the most extraordinary worker. It's up to you to SHINE. You can shine shoes, shine mirrors, shine floors, it doesn't matter. You can SHINE in any job you have, even if you hate it. When you find that the struggle to pay the bills is not what you should focus on, when you find, that your focus is on helping others and not yourself. Well, you'll find, life is pretty awesome! 

Give it a try! : - )    

10 Reason You Should Join A Startup

In my wanderings around the net, I found an article titled "10 Reason's Why You Shouldn't Join A Startup" Oh that tweaked my mind into action. Of course I have to write 10 reasons why you should join a startup. : - )

1. You have nothing else to do. (That's me)

2. You love chaos on a daily basis. (Oh yeah, boring never works)

3. You don't mind getting paid a little here, and a little there, and mostly nothing at all. (how do us startups survive? Ramen.)

4. You love building something that most likely will FAIL. Because you know all good startups fail. And yet failure, is the strength that builds you, to be a better person that knows how to make your next startup work.

5. You love working your brain to the sleep deprivation stage, after all it's just like having a baby, someone's got to stay up all night!

6. Fear. Well that doesn't bother you. Oh fear it will fail, fear you will be fired by the VC's, Fear you are let go for no reason. Fear, Fear, Fear! It will never scare you. Cause no one can hurt you. You built something out of nothing, that trumps fear.

7.Stress.The startup stress is like no other. Yet you, overcome it effortlessly, because this is not the stress of being told to clean the toilets, it's not the stress of some horrible boss telling you how bad a worker you are when you know you are a good worker who mops floors. It's not the stress of of being bullied by a psycho boss, it's the stress of building something beautiful!

8. Building a startup is yes indeed a very hard task filled with a ton of agony, and relentless work, yet, it's the most satisfying work in life, because it's you, making decisions and creating. It's your work that will one day affect others.

9. The friends you make on your startup path, the people you encounter, the connections that blossom, the wild unbelievable things that happen, well, you would never get that from a regular job. 

10. You build startups because you are not afraid. You know that in every thing you build is a gift for humanity, and that is worth more then starving, struggling, suffering fear, paying bills, wondering if you should take that stable job offer. Yeah, this is it, this is how you express your creativity, you build startups!   



I'm not giving up ~ because I have nothing else to do ~ but create gifts for humanity ~  

The Crazy Part Of Crazy: Building Startups

When I talk about being crazy, it's not like a nut freak who does bad things in society. No, my crazy is about being creative, having drive, dreams and desires to build funny things called startups. Oh those wild ideas that you can turn virtually nothing into something. Yes, that kind of crazy.

The insanity that comes with my type of personality is well, just over the edge from every normal person in my life who, goes to college, gets a career and works in that field their entire life. I am so not like them. 

I often look at the people in my life and wonder why they do it. To me they seem like such normal people. Sometimes I even wish I was like them. If I were, then I wouldn't have to be consumed by the crazies in my mind. Those people whom I deem normal, seem perfectly satisfied with going to the same job day in and day out. Sometimes they hate their job and find another one just to hate that one too.

Me, I'm Always Thinking About What I Want To Create.

I'm always searching for that one idea that can help a million people. That can make a million people happy. That can have impact on a million lives. I wonder what normal people think about? What is it that makes my mind so different then them?

Most people don't know that I've been building startups since I was 11 years old. For many years these startups I built were only in my mind. A fantasy, a daydream of something I wanted to create. Then I started taking steps to get the thoughts out of my head and onto paper, then into prototype. Eventually all the ideas ended up in a file cabinet, I took some only so far, just to give up, quit, it seemed useless to keep going. 

My All The Way Startup

Now I'm at the place where I decided "so it's not the greatest idea in the world, but I can take it all the way" DigiThin. That's my all the way startup. You see I have nothing else to do with my life, so might as well take it all the way. Even if I'm 90 when either I finally give up, and call it a failure, or most likely I will be building many more ideas between now and the age of 90. So DigiThin can stay alive, there is no reason for it not to. 

The Plague Of Ideas

Currently I am plagued with another "Great idea" or a big dose of crazies is running rampant in my brain. Of course I'm going to chase it, as long as it keeps taunting me. I've already run into obstacles, and my entrepreneur mind says "oh, lets find our way around those" and that's what I do. I have to build eavesdropApp, I just have to. Because I see it in my brain. I see every little detail of how it's going to work. I also see why it didn't work in the past for others who have already had the similar idea. It's a different time, now. Technology has advanced. EavesdropApp wants to be built. So it landed in my brain and it wants me to build it.

Is there any coders out there that would like to join a startup? We can take eavesdropApp all the way, I have no doubt. And it scales ever so much more then DigiThin. 

; - )  

Talk to me jana@digithin.com

Entering The Dead Zone Of Social Networking

I do not know how the social networks helped you reach people before all the big companies decided to change the algorithms. I entered this world only in the last 5 months. I'm still a newbie to all the "what you should do and what you should not do" 

I tried out Facebook advertising for a few months, yes I was getting likes, and I did get two sales at that time period, but I do not know where the sales came from, could have been Facebook, or something else. 

I stopped all advertising for few reasons. I have no idea how to read the darn analytic pages. I have tried over and over to understand, what is the key to mastering this kind of data? So instead of blowing cash I wanted to study all I can and figure this out. The other reason was, running out of cash, a startup staple! 

The thing that I have noticed since I stopped advertising, is that the social networks, that I think "used to show you to others" don't show you at all unless you pay. Now I don't blame them, they want to, and need to make money. The thing is, I'm pretty sure they used to show you around and now they don't. 

I have also read about this SEO stuff and if you ask me, that's not working anymore either.  Or my web guys never did one darn bit of promised SEO work. Because I got nothing out of it. I don't believe in SEO, to me it's Sorry Everyone's Out! 

It's all coming down to, you have to pay to play, or make your business grow. And that's nice and dandy if you have any startup cash left. If you get to end of the cash road, well, now all I have is my creative self, a laptop, and whole lot of desire to make this thing work. I suppose I most likely will, even if I am in the dead zone of social networking. Maybe I'll find the way that nobody else is using. The one little crack, everyone missed. 

I could only hope.  

Biz Stone's Little Bird

Wow, I'm not even 1/4th into this read, and it's strikingly spot on to how I am with my startups. Biz Stone's story sucks me into every emotion he has lived. I'm right there with him, when he says "opportunity is manufactured" Exactly! Us startup builders make our opportunities! We create. 

Every intriguing word he speaks is like my startups dripping out of his mouth. Yeah, that's me I think, and then another great twist of life he lays down before us, and you know it's you, and I. The people who can't stop creating. The people who chase after a desire so great that, hell no, were not doing market research, were building the greatest thing ever! Who cares if we can't pay the bills, this idea is the best! We see it, we feel it, and it lives inside our bodies, swirling around like a tornado filled with the most excitement of a child opening Christmas presents! Yeah, it's us, startup builders, chasing ideas in our heads because that's who we are, and what we do.

I have not finished reading this book. I can't tell you if it takes a turn for the worse, but I highly doubt it. I'm so excited about it that I just had to stop reading it and write to all of you. This is a must read for every startup builder. Especially those of us, who are the extreme creative types!. Those of us who often feel crazy. Those of us who "Embrace your constraints.......They make your more creative. They make you better". Build no matter what, no cash- keep building - no hope - keep building - no ideas - keep building. 

As I read Biz Stones' book, I so see myself in every moment he describes. How can this be? How can I be him when I'm not? Because I am him, but I'm me, Jana, the crazy outlier of the startup world. I have experienced all that he talks about, of course except success. I am all these things, but I'm me Jana. I'll keep building and following my most extreme passions that haunt me. The ones that nag me, and wont let go. I will follow them, even if most people reject me, and think I'm crazy. That's a part of it. A big part of being creative.

Thunder, lighting, a downpour of hail and rain, I finished this book in a tiny camper on the side of mountain with a view of Pikes Peak. One of my favorite pages was this one. 

Every word Biz wrote was either educational,inspirational,compassionate or super funny. I so believe everything Biz stands for as human being. His heart of altruism should be noted as one of his finest traits. May all of us be so kind to others.


 Thank you Biz Stone for giving us this gift ~ and for Twitter of course!

with love ~ jana

Having Fun With Clean and Dirty Food

I spent a few days up in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, in Colorado where I live. Right now it's called "mud season" as soon as the snow starts melting, it will make lots of mud puddles. It's also called "off season" where there is hardly anyone up there in all those ski towns. 

I absolutely love the off seasons. Not because I don't like people, but because I really like how peaceful it is without thirty thousand others. The funny thing is, there is still a ton of snow up there, and it snowed on, and off the whole time I was there. There is nothing better then sitting in a hot tub with the snow falling on you. I absolutely love it. It was stunningly beautiful and super cold! Fifteen degrees! Brrrrr.

Dustin my co- worker and I, were working on a project. We decided that the battle for weight loss is really the battle between Clean and Dirty food. It's a struggle for many of us to choose to eat the clean food. Dirty food always seems easier to eat, it always seems to win. 

But dirty food will never win in our fun video's, and vines were making. Check us out on Vine 

Here is a picture of the moon one night. 

And here is a daytime view.

More Beauty

Hope you can make it to Colorado sometime and enjoy our beautiful mountains, no matter what time a year, it's always pleasing to the soul!

Market Research Is Ridiculous For Entrepreneurs. Lines Drawn In The Sand

I run into this issue from time to time. It's the issue of when you have your idea, and you start to chase it, when you reach out to someone most certainly they will ask "Did you do your market research?" Ha ha, I smile to myself. Market research for an idea is ridiculous to me. This is why.

An idea coming out of a creative person, needs no market research.

It's their art, their gift, their creativity. Does someone need to grade my idea? I don't need any market approval to create ideas. If I lived for my ideas to be approved by others, then I would have no need to create. To me it's only a judgement of people who have no idea that your idea is awesome, because it's so new and different it takes time for people to understand your gift, and how useful it can be to them. Some never will accept your ideas because it's art. It's creative. No one likes every Picasso or Van Gogh. 

What it needs is to live, to grow, to inspire, to give to others.

Do you think William Shakespeare said "Oh I must do market research before he presented his plays to people?" No. He knew what his gift was and he wanted to give it. He didn't do market research to see if people would accept or like his ideas, his plays, his art, his writings. No. He built a theater to show it to them in.

Shakespeare's Market Research

What if Shakespeare had done market research, and the people that read his plays thought, this is super freaking weird? What if twenty or so turned away and just gave him the wrinkled face, no comment look? If Shakespeare had done market research than, well we might not have ever had such a gift to humanity. You see, if you are an entrepreneur and you follow some standard business practice in the industry, well, I'm sorry, that may turn out to be a good thing for you to do, but it could also keep you from discovering what you really know is the truth for you. You create. There is no market approval needed for creating. It's your gift, and you will make it shine no matter what, if you believe in it. 

When the person I reached out to spit out that question, I knew. I knew one very powerful thing. He does not possess the gifts of an entrepreneur. He goes by what society teaches him. He goes by school preaching. He does not have the capacity to see what I see. He does not have the capacity to cross over the lines drawn in the sand. But I do. You see when my friend asked that question, he drew a line in the sand. I'm gonna walk right over it. My creativity has no lines! 

Yes, there is a place for market research and it's called social networks. Get your damn idea out there and let the masses decide. Fuck all the marketing experts. 

The real problem anyone will have with their idea is selling it. So maybe put your efforts on learning how to sell, and skip the market research step. That's a useless step. At least for the extremly creative types like me it is.

Blank

: - (

My Startup Stress Is Better Than Wiping Ass

Recently I read a Medium post about a man who had started a startup with his buddy. They lived in the same apartment building and sat around one night coming up with ideas over beer, and came up with an idea. 

Sorta like most of us do while we drink. The thing is, they decided to do something about it. Bravo! Doing something about those ideas you come up with while drinking is, the most amazing thing one can do. 

You see almost everyone has ideas, but few actually take the steps to create the idea. 
Those of us who do, are the ones, well, who enter a whole new world of stress! : - ) all in the quest to make something others need. All in the quest to make something that will help others. All in the quest to see if we ourselves, can accomplish what we set out to do. 

This young man and his friend decided to enter a startup competition with their beer drinking idea, and they won! So they both quit their jobs and started building their startup. 

After two years and other funds raised, the stress was taking a toll on this man.
He often thought of the life he had had previously at a great company, and the perks of just punching the clock and working for someone else. He started to think that the world he left had greener grass. A bed to get eight hours of sleep in. A place to do the 40, and have the rest of life all to yourself. But startup life is not 40 hours a week it's 168 hours a week. It's all the time you are awake, and all the little time you are asleep. It's none stop.

So he told his co-founder, it's time for me to say good-bye! He had had enough stress, lack of sleep, loss of family and friend get together's, etc..he was done!

Now I don't fault him at all.
I understand all that. The thing for me is, I never had a great 40 hours a week job. My jobs have always been at the bottom of the working totem poll. My job now is literally wiping ass. Oh yeah, I love my job at the hospital taking care of patients. I dearly love them. I give them the best care, and love a person can give. I stroke their heads with my hand and whisper, I love you, when they are dying, even though I don't know them. I tend to their every need, even the ones who are angry, negative and bitter, who yell at me, mistreat me, hit me, spit on me, call me names, yeah even those people. I love them. They are sick, that's why they are in the hospital, so they can be as horrible as they want to be to me, and I give them love, kindness, comfort, passion, and the care they deserve and need. 

Yet there is one thing about that job that makes me love building a startup.
I hated changing diapers on my kids, and now, I wipe the ass of adults! It doesn't bother me, I can do it. But I don't see myself as wiping ass the rest of my life. I think I have greater gift to give to humanity. And yes, if you need ass wiped, I'll wipe it, if you can't do it. But really, I'd like to kick ass now. I'd like give more people the love I have in me for humans. I'd like to make your life better with my startup ideas. 

So that's why I build startups ~ It is a ton of stress, but I always think, it's better then wiping ass. 

Cheeseing Out, Cause Someone Already Thought Of Your Startup Idea

Every startup starts with a thought. The thought in your head, that, wow, that's a great idea! You wander around your house, thinking you just thought up the million dollar idea! Oh yeah! your're amazing! You know what, someone, somewhere is already ahead of you, and they are, already building it.

Ahh Fuck! How Can That Be? You Were Sure No One Else, Could Have Ever Thought Of It 
I used to think that. The easy answer is. Just type your name into Google, and see how many people have the same name as you? You thought you were unique, and surely no one else has the same rare name as you have, but there it is, 400 John Doe's, or Jana Monroe's! Ah fuck!

The Same Applies To Ideas.
If you thought of it, it's most likely been thought of by someone else. Sorta sad. But here is the thing, don't let it stop you if someone is already doing it. Because competition is the name of the game. The company that builds the gift, that works better for the user, wins! If you are a startup builder, you know, Myspace was before Facebook. Well, we all know what happened there. The person who didn't give up, even when their idea was already on the market, was the winner. The BIG FUCKING WINNER!

I Have A Great Idea Right Now, But I Know Someone Surly Is Already Building It.
It could be out on the market right now. But I know, it's not big yet, cause I have not seen it. Still, I'm not giving up. I'm not going to stop building because someone else is already doing it. Why? Because mine is laced with my ideas, mine is better, mine is totally fucking awesome. I won't let my competitor intimidate me! Because they are not my competition. It is I, who is my competition. I am the one, who takes the idea out of the mind, and builds it. I am the one who lived in the problem, and I am the one who solved it. I don't think about the competition, yet I am happy they exist. Because they validate there is a need for the problem.

When You See Your Idea In Real Life.
If you gave up when you realized your idea was already being done, then your not a startup builder. A startup builder goes after the great idea in their head. A startup builder ignores the ever sinking feelings, that you are being crushed by companies with more seed funding, series A, B or don't fuck with me funding. Yeah a beautiful startup, ignores all the benefits they see their competition getting, while they are suffering, struggling, and building a damn fucking awesome gift for humanity. Yeah you! Don't worry about the fact others are already building it. Don't worry if you have no money. Don't worry, cause you are following the nag in your head, and that nag, has more power then all the blessing you think your competition got.  

Yea, You, The Startup Builder
If the nag, plus your idea equals, it's haunting your thoughts, then don't give up. No matter all the doubts. No matter all the hardships. If you give up, then you will never know, that your idea, was the best idea. Push forward in all the craziness. Cause those who do ~ find the minds nag to be ~ Mind blowing!

Meet Shaeed Bailey: Building A Startup To Help Startups

I met a wonderful young entrepreneur today on LinkedIN. Shaeed Bailey. I'd like for you to meet him too. 

Shaeed, is building a startup named Investoshare. It is an equity based crowd funding platform that connects entrepreneurs with Angel Investors. As a startup builder myself, I do know how us struggling entrepreneurs need capital. We need it bad! I like what Shaeed is doing. His heart is genuine. He wants to help others. He wants to help people like you, and I.

Most entrepreneurs put all the cash they have into their startups, because they so believe in their ideas. I did. When your startup rolls along on the cash you have, that cash gets burned up. Then there you are standing, holding your dreams, all the work, everything you have built up until this point, and you wonder. Is this the end of the road? Does it all end when the money runs out? Is the dream over? Is your idea toast? This has happened to me. 

I am facing a terrible fear. It's all over. No developing products to help people, everything I've been working on is OVER. As if it got burned down in a fire. I can't let my startup die because their is no money, can I. No, I won't.

According to Grant Cardone There is plenty of money out there. With all these crowd funding sites there are also plenty of people seeking. And there are plenty of people who have money to invest in you.  

I have read all about how finding capital for your startup is a full time job all by itself. You almost can't work on your startup, cause you have to spend all your time to save it's life. I am hoping that Shaeed will get to see his idea to build his startup Investoshare. I'm also hoping that it won't be a full time job for me just to seek and obtain funding, as I'd really like to build my gifts for humanity. 

Check out Shaeed's story here on Tumblur, follow him on Twitter @shabai22, and if you are feeling generous, donate to his fund raiser on GoFundMe

My New Mantra when you are seeking funding: NEVER BACK DOWN! I learned a hard lesson from a mystery investor I met on WhisperApp. To you Mr. "at Guy" I thank you. I won't forget that lesson ; - ) ever.

Grief, Equity For Cash And The Investor Who Kicked My A**

Oh I am suffering bad right now. I'm getting my ass kicked left and right and I so duly deserve it. 

I wrote about how I felt like I wasn't really myself a few months back. As if I was in some sort of psychotic entrepreneur episode. I was just starting to feel a bit better about myself when the Arizona police department called to say they had found my brother dead in his apartment. It was the neighbors who reported a strong smell. He had been dead for over a week, and no one missed him. This makes me sad. 

So I did all the things a sister must do in this kind of situation,arrange the funeral, pick up the ashes,talk to relatives, and continued to work my butt off on my startup. But mixing grief with a startup is not good.

Here are the ingredients for grief:

Denial

Isolation

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

I have had them all except, Acceptance. I think when you get to acceptance then you are over it. You can finally let them rest at peace. Or really, you can rest at peace yourself. So stir those other five ingredients into working on your startup, and you have a crazy person on the loose. Me.

I Wander Around My House And Don't Accomplish A Thing.

I immerse myself into my startup work. I try to avoid every thought of my brother, then some small glitch in my startup becomes impending doom, with anger seeping out all over the place, people in my path can't figure out, what the hell happened to Jana? And new people in my path certainly are seeing a nut! A total freaking freak!

Only time can heal the grief. But I don't want the grief. it's messing up my plans, it's screwing up my behavior, it's making an already crazy, insane, entrepreneur even crazier. It's horrible! I want it to go away, thus it's not something you can make go away. You can't just rip it out of your soul.

People Kicking My Ass 

I met an investor on WhisperApp. Yes, it's not just a sex app people! I found my first employee on Whisper. So I was talking to this nice man and trying to make a equity for cash pitch, and I blew it. This investor kicked my ass in the most kind way, and made me swallow my pride, ego, insanity, and every bit of my being. I didn't believe in myself, my startup, my idea, or the fact that one truly could find an Angel investor on WhisperApp.

I had a potential opportunity and I BLEW IT. Oh, where is that rock I need to climb under? 

And he has not been the only one to kick my ass when I needed it. I did a bad thing and a company I deal with put me in my place! They stood up to my shit. I apologized and climbed under a rock. 

Spinning Out Of Control

There is no excuse for my bad behavior or poor judgement, not even. "Oh I am a crazy person suffering grief and building a startup." If I do wrong I apologize. It's just that I don't want to be the person I am right now. I want the broken heart to be gone. I want the not knowing why my brother died to be answered. I want to save my startup from sinking before it gets a chance to sail. I want to build EavesdropApp. I want to help people.

I think it's time to get a dog and start running......................cause this spinning out of control crap is killing me.