1. Imagination. Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” The fellas over at Google had all the computer skills and knowledge they needed to have successful careers in some firm’s IT department–along with tens of thousands of other techies. What makes Larry Page and Sergey Brin household names is the fact they imagined there was a better way to search the web, and then they created it.
2. Always questioning. ”The important thing is not to stop questioning.” One of the most important questions an entrepreneur can ask is How can I make it better? Whether you offer a product or a service, improving it is the only way to attract new clients and retain existing ones. While Phil Knight was marketing Nike to the top of the athletic-shoe sales heap, Bill Bowerman tinkered with the shoes’ designs and made sure Nike footwear was on the cutting edge of innovation. How can the new model, Bowerman wondered, be better? If Einstein had stopped questioning, we would have been left with his thoughts on relativity instead of an entire theory.
3. Old problems, new ways of thinking. ”We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” In the 1940s and ’50s, book publishers printed paperback books based solely on hardback titles that had lost momentum; Ian Ballantine created Bantam Books Inc. to do just that. He soon realized he was limiting his profit potential by sticking to the old way of thinking. He decided–much to other publishers’ and bookstores’ chagrin–to produce original paperback titles for mass-market sales. Sixty years later, both models still exist. And Ballantine likely would have jumped at the chance to offer books electronically.
4. Intuition. ”The only real valuable thing is intuition.” Einstein worked in theoretical physics; he had to trust his intuition to move forward on anything. Entrepreneurs do the same thing every day. Intuition told Richard Branson the Sex Pistols were worth signing to a fledgling Virgin Records. Intuition told Hugh Hefner men would pay for a magazine filled with high-quality articles and fiction writing that was interspersed with photos of nude women. (Or was it the other way around?) Trusting one’s gut led to many of the 20th century’s greatest advances.
5. Strong positive attitude. ”Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” In the early 20th century, greeting cards were given for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. In 1915, a few weeks before Cupid’s favorite holiday, a warehouse fire destroyed J.C. and Rollie Hall’s entire inventory of Valentine’s Day cards and left them $17,000 in debt. They borrowed money, purchased an engraving firm, designed two new cards and printed them in time for Christmas. Nearly a century and countless new ideas later, Hallmark Cards sets the industry standard.
6. Naps. Einstein was supposed to be a big believer in midday siestas to recharge the brain. Some companies–Google and Nike, to name two–have created nap-friendly guidelines for their employees. There may be a lesson there for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Other entrepreneurs have utilized naps in a different way: bringing napping equipment to the workplace. No lie. MetroNaps installs sleep pods in companies’ buildings for employee use.
7. Rise above the mundane details. The stories of Einstein having a closet full of the same suits are exaggerated, but the point of the story is made: He didn’t want to spend intellectual and chronological capital wrestling with one of life’s mundanities. The definition of mundane details will vary from person to person–you say spreadsheets, I say boring–but know what you consider mundane and hire someone to take care of those tasks before they get neglected and drag the company down. Howard Hughes–before he lost the keys to his sanity vault–didn’t like the administrative day-to-day duties of the company he inherited from his father. He hired someone to handle it, and that person turned Hughes’ $1 million company into a $75 million empire. The other lesson there is “hire well.”
8. Willingness to try new things–and fail. ”Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Just ask the people at Coca-Cola circa 1985. The Coke folks realized the error of their ways and reinstated the traditional formula, but many of their other forays into new flavors–cherry and vanilla to name two–have proved to be huge successes.
9. Maintaining balance. “If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x, y is play and z is keeping your mouth shut.” Notice Einstein didn’t put absolute amounts on each of his variables. I doubt that was accidental. He knew–and now so do you–the ingredients to success; he also knew the formula was going to change from day to day. Whatever the ratio of x to y to z, entrepreneurs cannot forget Y.
10. Stay on top of tech. Early in his career at the Swiss Patent Office, Einstein was passed over for a promotion until he mastered the technology of his day: machines. The entrepreneurs who are remembered at the end of this century will be the people who maximize the use of technology. What is the next internet? Where will communications be in 25 years? How will information be delivered, and on what devices? The people who figure out the answers to those questions will be entrepreneurs at the forefront of their industries.

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Ok, you can stop stressing…the worst is over. Lets say you nailed your interview (I’m sure you did!), now what? The next step in the job hunting process is to follow-up in a timely and memorable manner. Keep in mind I’m coming from an agency perspective and this will not always apply. Most of these tips would only apply to a creative position and would not be applicable to say a law firm position.

Here are my 5 tips for the post-interview followup: Continue Reading →

My personal website back in 2002

I was 14 when I started doing freelance graphic design, website design and photography. It all started with designing and coding my first personal website. I remember back in the day we had to use Netzero to get free internet on our 28.8k modem which used our phoneline. Webhosting was quite expensive during the .com boom, so a lot of us had to use AOL, Geocities, Tripod and all those other free webhosts. These hosts allowed us to create a site on on their domain as long as it had ads. It was quite the time to grow up in.

Freelancing gave me many opportunities to gain more experience and it ultimately made me a much better candidate when I was applying for jobs. It also allowed me to maintain a source of revenue on the side. Although I still consider myself an agency guy, freelancing has taught me several valuable lessons. Without further adieu, here are my top 5 reasons why you should start freelancing (or start your own business): Continue Reading →

When I first graduated college, I tried to figure out which route I wanted to go. Did I want to continue freelancing or did I want to go work at an agency. The choice for me was clear. I wanted to work at a smaller agency because it would be a good transition from the college world into the agency life. I also believe that in smaller agencies, there are more opportunities to make a difference.

I ended up working at a digital marketing agency almost straight out of college. With that being said, I present my 5 top reasons why you should work at an agency! Continue Reading →

[via: Colorado Technical University]