Entrepreneurs Are Made Not Born by Lloyd Shefsky

Written by my Entrepreneurship professor at Kellogg.

Ch 1
  • luck is opportunity meets preparation
  • learn how to overcome rejection
Ch 2
  • believe in your dream
  • take the angel money
  • do what you know and love
  • believe in yourself
  • project conservatively
Ch 3
  • keep your business plan informal at first
  • be ready to pivot or even change ideas
  • when talking to investors only talk about one business idea
Ch 4
  • don’t let your fears hold you back
Ch 5
  • entrepreneurship means independence
  • don’t waste money on real estate if not necessary for your business
  • immigrants have an advantage
  • there is life after bankruptcy
Ch 6
  • to conquer a fear, first understand it
  • good enough never is
  • failing doesn’t make you a failure
  • in the long run failing may be better for you
  • an entrepreneur’s secret weapon is his spirit
  • projects fail, entrepreneurs do not
  • if you dwell on failure, you will fail
Ch 7
  • beware the comfortable and secure life
  • something the security of a corporate track may feel like a prison
Ch 8
  • entrepreneurship is not gambling
  • risk is unavoidable
  • managers avoid or reduce risk
  • entrepreneurs focus on the reward
  • investors want to know that you’re risking something too
  • venture capitalists want you to succeed
Ch 9
  • to entrepreneurs, work = life
  • work ethic is found very early in life
  • he who makes money pleases god
  • puritans work to work, entrepreneurs work to achieve a goal
  • entrepreneurial work is fun
  • do you work b/c you love it or to achieve your dreams
  • Bill Gates still works 80 hrs/week
Ch 10
  • entrepreneurs are sometimes unemployable
  • be different
  • some rules are sacred and some can be bent
Ch 11
  • rules that can be broken: it can’t be done, that’s the only way to do it, they are the only ones who can do it, anyone can do it
Ch 12
  • you don’t really fail until you give up
  • you make mistakes not really fail
Ch 13
  • practice endlessly before the opportunity arrives
  • pick a partner for the bad times not the good
  • useful advisors: CPA, insurance, lawyer
Ch 14
  • work hard
  • take care of your body
  • don’t forget your family
Ch 15
  • someone has to be the leader
  • leaders craft and communicate a vision and strategy
  • leaders inspire others to follow them
  • deep down, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, let them be one through you
  • be the team’s biggest cheerleader
  • demonstrate publicly your willingness to sacrifice
Ch 16
  • you can do it
Ch 17
  • for entrepreneurs, money is the vehicle not the destination
Ch 18
  • keep trying

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