Guy Kawasaki is known as one the Apple employees responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. He is an author, speaker, investor and business advisor. He attended Standford University and only two weeks of law school at UC Davis. He learned “how to sell” from his first job at a jewelry company. After working at Apple, Kawasaki decided he would start a software company. He lead ACIUS in 1987 to publish the Apple database ‘4th Dimension’.
He has written for Forbes and MacUser, and continues to further his passion for writing and speaking. In recent years, Kawasaki has announced he will be joining Google as an advisor to Motorola. He is currently working on creating a Google+ mobile device community.
The following are Guy Kawasaki’s thoughts and attitudes on starting up a business:
Leverage your brand. You shouldn’t let two guys in a garage eat your shorts.
The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning—to create a product or service that makes the world a better place.
No matter what kind of organization you’re starting, you have to figure out a way to make money. The greatest idea, technology, product, or service is short-lived without a sustainable business model.
The causation of great organizations is the desire to make meaning. Having that desire doesn’t guarantee that you’ll succeed, but it does mean that if you fail, at least you failed doing something worthwhile.
Postpone writing your mission statement. You can come up with it later when you’re successful and have lots of time and money to waste.
Take my word for it, happiness is temporary and fleeting. Joy, by contrast, is unpredictable. It comes from pursuing interests and passions that do not obviously result in happiness.
Playing to win is one of the finest things you can do. It enables you to fulfill your potential. It enables you to improve the world and,
conveniently, develop high expectations for everyone else too.No one ever achieved success by planning for gold.
The hardest thing about getting started is getting started.
If you’re going to change the world, you can’t do it with milquetoast and boring products or services. Shoot for doing things at least ten times better than the status quo.
Successful companies are started,and made successful, by at least two, and usually more, soulmates. After the fact, one person may come to be recognized as “the innovator,” but it always takes a team of good people to make any venture work.
If you can’t describe your business model in ten words or less, you don’t have a business model.
You should be scared. If you aren’t scared, something is wrong with you.
There is much more to gain—feedback, connections, opened doors—by freely discussing your idea than there is to lose.
The more people you talk to, the richer your thoughts will be. If it’s just you staring at your navel, all you’ll see is lint building up.
Posted in collaboration with BillRingle.com.