Starting Something New: The Entrepreneurial Blueprint

I was wrestling with what to do. Continue my path as a doctor? Start something new and unknown? I felt trapped, the momentum of my life decisions since age 14 driving me to a path that wasn't what I had envisioned.

I knew in my heart, that I wanted to transition and become an Internet entrepreneur.

Life Question 1:

How do I start something new?

Getting started is the hardest thing because it requires force. From status quo to step 1 change. It’s “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” It’s the force described by Newton: An object at rest remains at rest unless acted on by a net external force. That force is your entrepreneurial spirit to make a decision, that influences your mind, which then influences your body to act. It’s embodied in Nike’s motto, “Just do it.” Carpe diem, to seize the day.

Should I drop out of medical residency? I already had my medical degree. I should finish what I started as I only had a year left. Logical.

I was excited but also very nervous about starting something totally new. But was it new or just buried deep in my heart? What were these fears that suddenly appeared with the thought of starting something new?

A fear of failure. A fear of letting people down. A fear of criticism. A fear of change. A fear of the unknown. A fear of uncertainty. A fear of loss of identity. A fear of loneliness. They seem to engulf the excitement and passion of starting something new. Each fear posed as mountains in my new path.

Making a Decision

In 1993, I heard my Sunday school teacher, Bill Pottenger, an assistant professor at the University of Champaign, proclaim that a student there, Marc Andreesen, had just invented this thing called Mosaic, the first Internet browser. He explained how this was a big shift, a revolution in the making, that would merge all current and future forms of media onto the Internet.

I decided then that I wanted to be part of this upcoming Internet Revolution. I knew instantly that it was going to be bigger than the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution of the steam engine and factories, the Transportation Revolution of trains, automobiles and planes, and greater than the Media Revolution of radio, TV and cinema… combined.

I had an idea in 1997 to start a Yellow Pages online, but medical school, church and marriage kept me too busy. I knew I needed to really scope down this idea of the Yellow Pages online to start with just one category, much like how Jeff started Amazon with just books.

I could realistically devote:

• Time: an hour a day and a few hours on the weekend

• Money: $100 a month

• Know How: very little

• Resources: none internally

• Faith: very little but lots of hope and passion

It was my final shift of the year, December 1998, at Pediatrics Emergency, I decided that I was going to start my Internet business in January 1999.

Once I made that decision, I knew it would be […Read the rest at Ham.com]