Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
User Journal

Journal SlashChick's Journal: Hey! Stop Shaking Me, World! 12

Journal by SlashChick

So I'm sick again...the second time in two weeks. Getting sick appears to have a direct correlation to the number of hours I sleep. I had 7 straight days where I got 4-6 hours of sleep a night, and I still hadn't fully recovered from my other cold...bam, another one.

I went to LA for one strange event. I describe it as "strange" because it completely changed my life in unexpected ways. Officially labeled as a "CEO Retreat", it's basically where 200 or so entrepreneurs gather in a hotel in LA for intensive classes and training sessions. The company running the session is IBI Global, and if you've been thinking about joining IBI, then I must say it's totally worth the price of admission.

I had little or no expectations coming into IBI. For one thing, I found out about IBI about 5 days before I actually went to the conference. For another thing, I knew walking out of the local meeting (local meetings are free and highly recommended if you're an entrepreneur or small business owner) that I'd be going to LA in a few days for this conference/retreat/seminar/whatever you want to call it.

I hopped on a plane with a couple other Bay Area IBI'ers (Don, who is starting a wireless ISP, and William, who runs a company dedicated to managing the personal lives of incredibly rich people.) I knew it was going to be an intense 7 days, but I had no idea what I was really in for.

I've had a couple company ideas floating around for a while (a year, actually) but really had no idea how to get them off the ground. I even had people saying "Send me a business plan; I'd like to invest" and I still didn't know what the heck to do about it. (Write a business plan, right? Well, you sit down and write a 125-page business plan having never done it before and having no idea what to put in it.)

I quickly learned at IBI that I am a born salesperson. Ever heard of an "elevator pitch"? (That's the 30-second demo of your business that you give to people so they'll want to invest with you by the time the elevator gets to its destination.) IBI calls that a SNAP, and by the end of the conference, I was snapping not only for myself, but for several others at IBI whose projects I really got a kick out of. I started to realize that the real power of my pitch was confidence -- the more confident I was, the more confident others became in my success. Without letting myself become egotistical, I started to really enjoy myself, and impressed the heck out of a lot of other people (I had to be one of the youngest people there.)

What I didn't count on was meeting the people I met. I met several people there I put on my team (I now have a CFO and a law firm!) and several people who put me on their teams (I'm going to help build a radio station and a wireless ISP.) But there was one person in particular who really stood out in my mind. This guy bears an uncanny resemblance to...me! It's so wild to meet someone so much like yourself at one of these conferences (well, so he's 40-something and married, but you know, he also has a Treo and a Miata and is a complete geek.) Of course, I hired him, and put him on as my business partner. (Gotta convince those investors to invest in something other than a bunch of twentysomethings anyway.) So my business has completely changed (I won't own 100% of Simpli in just a few short months), but now I'm confident I can write the business plan and get investors on board, especially since they'll be investing in a company that already has a lot of revenue and is profitable.

My life changed entirely in 7 days, but it's been a good change. Simpli will become a multi-million dollar business in the next 3-5 years, and I'll be driving that. I've also built a team of people whom I am absolutely ecstatic to work with. It is a pretty cool feeling.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Hey! Stop Shaking Me, World! More

Hey! Stop Shaking Me, World!

Comments Filter:
  • I've heard it said that a significantly more number of students get sick shortly after pulling an all nighter than those that haven't. It makes sense. get your sleep!! or I guess take some vitamens if you haven't been, take the vitamens anyway actually.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • what do you put in a buisiness plan?
  • Well, you sit down and write a 125-page business plan having never done it before and having no idea what to put in it.

    Call me naïve, but I tend to feel that if you can't write up your business plan in less than 125 pages, then you're probably being too verbose to do a good job of convincing the guys that need convincing...

  • ground floor shares for /.'ers?

    congrats on making lots of new connections!
  • I don't mean that in a derogatory way or intelligence way... I'm speaking to your body (in a non-sexual way).
    You aren't in that 'college days can pull all nighters' body anymore. You are an adult that needs sleep or your body will suffer. Stress, you will also note, will also cause damage to your body. Hopefully it won't end up as bad as me (with the whole IBS thing), but you need sleep and relaxation away from stress. When confronted with problems, imagine how bad it would be to just 'work on it tomor
    • FortKnox has some very good advice for you. Having rounded the 30 bend myself, I find that I am far more accessable to colds and the like if I don't get enough sleep.

      Best of luck on your company! BTW, as a former Lit Paralegal in the Bay Area, I am curious as to your law firm choice-- assuming that youc an disclose it;-)

      • Having rounded the 30 bend myself, I find that I am far more accessable to colds and the like if I don't get enough sleep.

        What (s)he said. And Exercise. I find that my body has gotten so accustomed to regular exercise over the past 10 years (mostly weightlifting), that now if I go too long without working out, I start getting sick. Colds, upset stomachs, that kind of thing. Get back into regular exercise, and I'm just fine. Weird!
  • It sounds like an exciting time for you and your company.

Slashdot Top Deals

Kleeneness is next to Godelness.

Close