This will be the shortest post I have ever written. There is no need for it to say much.
Dreams do become reality. Work hard and pay your dues. When bad happens, roll with the punches. When good happens, pay it forward. Act like you know you should. Be compassionate but stern. Dream big dreams, then fight like hell to make them reality.
What are your biggest dreams? What are you doing to accomplish them?
The last nine months of my life have been a whirl-wind. I took a lot of risks and attempted to do things that people told me were impossible. Most people even said I was dumb or crazy. I had a vision for what I wanted to do though. A vision for who I am as a person. I can proudly say that it has all come to fruition.
Less than a year ago The Community Corkboard was founded. I was blessed to co-found the business alongside three of my friends from high school. We created an online platform 
that allowed local businesses to advertise to their community while also supporting local schools. Just four young kids with no experience. Little did we know, that would be an advantage. Since inception, The Community Corkboard was able to partner with over 20 public school districts and private schools. We acquired hundreds of customers in this short period of time. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.
All the excitement has come to an end. Last week I finalized a deal to successfully exit The Community Corkboard!! The terms are covered under a non-disclosure agreement but all those long hours finally seemed worth it. Skipping the social scene or the constant feeling of being overwhelmed suddenly doesn’t matter. The company will continue to grow and work with schools. It’s in great hands and I feel confident that many more schools will be able to utilize the platform during these hard financial times. (If you’re interested in signing up, go here)
I still feel strongly about the mission that we set out on. Education is a very important aspect of our society and everyone should pitch in to help. The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. This is important to me so I have accepted an offer to hold an advisory role with The Community Corkboard moving forward. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to stay involved!
I never thought the situation that has transpired over the last few weeks would ever happen. I’m happy that it did and feel very fortunate. I couldn’t have done it alone and I want to thank everyone who helped me along the way. First my co-founders and friends Brent Nolan, John Charlesworth and Jim Zidar who put up with my wild ideas and demanding nature. Next my family, especially my parents, who continuously dealt with the uncertainty of whether I was doing the right thing and stood by me during the tough times. Thank you to the many friends who offered encouragement and suggestions while listening to me obsess over TCC for months.
Most importantly I want to thank every single person who told me it wasn’t possible. There were plenty of you. The ones that told me I didn’t know what I was doing. You don’t know it but you fueled my fire every day. I couldn’t have done it without you. When times got tough I would think that I couldn’t let you get the satisfaction of knowing I had failed. Failure was never an option.
So what’s next? I have taken a few days off to really let the situation sink in. I know I will be back at it again but haven’t decided how yet. I made a lot of mistakes in building The Community Corkboard. I’m excited to start from scratch again and begin the chase for success once more with these lessons learned. This time I plan to take a new approach to the work/life balance. I can’t wait.
Thank you again to everyone who helped me along the way. Your support was not unnoticed. You can check out TCC on Facebook or Twitter. Help them continue the mission! As for me, I will provide an update once I know what is next. Until then I’m going to sit back and relax. Enjoy the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. It will be gone before we know it….
Watch this man stand in front of a national audience and pour his heart out. He is loved by many and he is hated by even more. The way he handled his departure from Cleveland has been criticized but Lebron made a statement today.
His journey has been amazing already but he isn’t satisfied. He thanked those who are currently helping him along with also thanking those who have helped him in the past. He explained why he has become the person he is. It is refreshing to hear a professional athlete show such humility. The part that stood out most to me is that he wants a championship. He wants to have team success. Great leaders make it happen. I wish him the best of luck and can’t wait to watch him entertain us!
Below is a guest post by a good friend of mine. Enjoy!
For all of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Justin Rodriguez. I am a Soldier in the PA National Guard with Mr. Pompliano or Pomp as I call him and a full time college student at Lock Haven University pursuing my Degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Management. I was asked to write a blog post, and when I asked what to write it on, he said anything.
I thought back to the hours of conversation Pomp and I have had about business models, price schemes, future business ideas, beating the system, the system itself, and of course friendship. Now for the two of us we live in different states, see each other once a month, and although it’s called “Drill” we are essentially being paid by the military to talk about what we can do to better ourselves, and succeed as young entrepreneurs with college degrees. Now comes up an interesting conversation, a College Degree and what it gets you. I am still looking forward to my anticipated graduation date in the Spring of 2013. So I have yet to find out, but I know where I have come from to this point. I have always wondered the term entrepreneur and what it meant. Obviously by definition it is “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.” Well I cheated and stole the definition from Merriam- Webster, but that’s the nice way of putting it.
Realistically, what this means is you chose to play your cards against the house. You put your life’s stake in many cases on an idea, passion, or project that you hope will prove valuable to the masses. I continue to think of many new ideas, and in many cases they run through my brain just looking for a way to hit the table and run. Many people have what Pomp and I call the “Million Dollar Idea,” but just don’t know how to implement it. This is me telling you, I don’t either. But with such products as Legal Zoom and many colleges having Small Business Development offices to help, you can find a way. Most of us hope to be sitting on the Ace, something that can provide us with a financial safety net to retire on at a young age.
Don’t give up!! We are also in the same boat, we kick, pinch, slap, yell, and claw our way towards these ideas as well. Everyone always wants to know what should I invent? My answer to you is what could help people move on a daily basis, what aids can you think of in our life to continuously simplify our daily routines? What idea runs through your mind to improve our economy, to provide people with a governmental system to live comfortably within our means? For those of you that may read this, you just as well as any of us hold that power. The only question is; how bad do you want it?
There is an old saying that “no magic pill exists other than a little hard work and sweat.” This is still true today. The tragedy of the technology revolution is that the idea of hard work gets lost within the race for a quick fix to any problem. Most individuals see Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple as companies that just appeared one day. This could not be farther from the truth.
Our country was built on the foundation of hard work from a collection of great entrepreneurs. The key to their success was that they worked hard, every day. Society did not have this belief that you only worked from 9-5 for 5 days a week. These men and women worked as many hours and days as it took to get the necessary work done. Neither Henry Ford or Steve Jobs drove home at 5pm to get some dinner and watch television.
The more I work with and am surrounded by individuals of Generation Y, the more I realize that this notion of hard work has been lost. I am not saying that nobody works hard, nor am I saying that I am not guilty of some of these same things. This is purely my analysis of the current culture that surrounds 16-28 year olds. When a task needs to be accomplished you can usually here things like “I will do it later” or “We should hire someone to do that.” This lack of hard work can also be found in entrepreneurs as well. They work hard, but do they work as hard as they can?
My experience is that the answer is no. Those that outwork their competition are usually the ones that you read about in magazines and books. The successful entrepreneurs are the individuals willing to go beyond the “limits” of the common man. No task is too hard or too daunting, and nothing will stop them from succeeding. Take a minute every 2-3 days to reflect how you have been performing. Are you outworking your competition and peers? Are you working as hard as you possibly can?
Hard work is not a magic pill by any means but it is an essential ingredient to success that is currently lacking in many young people today. In order to have the iPhones, iPads, sports cars, and jewelry you must work hard! One thing you can do to cultivate this thrist and hunger for success is to read the biographies and stories of the entrepreneurs who came before you. Many of these stores exist such as Mark Cuban, Steve Jobs, Sean Parker, and Scooter Braun.
Do you have the intestinal drive to succeed in a global economy? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve success? How bad do you actually want to succeed? Ask yourself these questions and get refocused on your goals so that you can ensure you are taking the efficient path to success!
Most people agree that military veterans have done a great deed for our country. They voluntarily signed up for the greatest fighting force in the world. Many young veterans joined with the knowledge that they would be deployed and sent off to fight a war thousands of miles from home. After each of these veterans are commended on their service, they are often overlooked and forgotten about. The label “veteran” is used to define them; almost as if a veteran is only good at fighting in wars. While vets are very good at fighting, they are quickly becoming some of the most highly sought after commodities in the corporate world as well.
Harvard Business School is making an effort to accept more veterans. The federal government has introduced veteran employment expos and programs. Grants are becoming available for veteran entrepreneurs. With all of this attention being placed on veterans entering the job market, what is the basis for it? Why do veterans make good employees?
1. They start with a great foundation.
Some employers would be happy just to have someone show up to work on time, in the right attire, and prepared for the day. To veterans this is second nature. Things like punctuality, dress code, preparation, and accountability are all taken for granted in the military. They are not something that is preached or stressed about, merely expected. When vets take these expectations into the corporate world, they initially set themselves apart through appearance, politeness, and punctuality.
2. They work well in teams
To survive at war, a veteran must be willing to work in a team environment. They must be dependable and able to depend on other people. They are use to eating, sleeping and fighting alongside peers. These skills transfer over to business. Veterans are able to take direction well and listen to advice from others. When it is appropriate to provide input for the betterment of the team, they are able to do so. Small, tight-knit teams are essential to the success of any organization and veterans excel in this area.
3. They have maturity beyond their years.
After going through basic training and oversea deployments, most veterans have life experiences that can not be re-created anywhere else. These experiences are able to introduce them to a unique perspective of the world, while also providing experience in stressful situations. From training and combat, these individuals are able to handle stress well, remain calm during chaotic times, make timely decisions, and keep a level head throughout the ups and downs of business.
4. They possess the best skills and training.
When your life and the life of your comrades are on the line, only the best training is acceptable. The military spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on state-of-the-art training. For technical skills, the training can not be compared to anything else. For non-technical skills, each soldier is trained and trained until they demonstrate a high level of proficiency. When entering the business world, most veterans possess an unusually high skill-set that prepares them for success.
5. They are well-versed in leadership.
To me, this is the most important trait. Put a veteran in any situation and you can expect them to step into a leadership role. This is engrained in a vet. “Lead from the front, be a leader.” In the business world, many people are paralyzed because they are afraid to make decisions or refrain from stepping into leadership roles when the opportunities are presented. Employers want employees who are willing to stand up and lead. They want employees that can fill-in for others when needed. Veterans offer this skill to businesses, which is why they are usually successful in the corporate world.
Now that you know why veterans are so highly sought after, how can you learn from their skills? What can you do to help develop them? If you have weaknesses, make them your strengths. If you think you have good skills, make them better. No matter what your situation is, learn from those with proven successful traits. Thank you veterans for your service to our country, and thank you for continuing to serve as great examples to the people you protected.
Follow me on Twitter @APompliano and let me know what you think of this article using the hashtag #HireVets
I recently read Ryan Blair’s book “Nothing to lose, Everything to gain: How I went from gang member to multimillionaire entrepreneur.” I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to write a post about it and hopefully turn a few other people onto the book.
During Blair’s early adolescent years he went through a rough patch that included joining a gang, being arrested, etc. His mother began dating a successful business man around this time. After moving in with him, Blair took the man as his mentor and began to learn how to be successful.
He found out that many of the same attributes that made him tough and successful on the “streets” or in prison, were also qualities that would make him a very successful businessman. The book illustrates what those traits are and how you can apply them to business in your own life.
Many young people these days are guided in the wrong direction and make mistakes. The lifestyle that attracts young men and women is hard to fight against. The temptation is there. This book shows that you do not have to fight that temptation but merely redirect the same passion and energy into a legal endeavor that will become lucrative. I recommend this book for every young entrepreneur, whether you have been a troublemaker in the past or the angel your parents always dreamed of.
You can purchase Ryan’s book on Amazon here:
Follow me on Twitter @APompliano
Any billionaire who goes to work in jeans and credits his success to luck is a favorite in my book. Cuban does it once again with his unique style. Listen, Learn, Appreciate!
The young people of our world are growing up in a very unique time. These people have experienced more wars, tragedies, and economic failures then most grown ups do in a lifetime. While many individuals would expect this to have a negative impact on our youth, I notice a different trend.
Many young people are taking a unique approach to entrepreneurship and business. Instead of trying to create businesses that solely exist for profits, social good has become a huge market. From Better World Books to The Community Corkboard, entrepreneurs are creating for-profit companies that include social good aspects. This effort is commendable, especially when you attempt to realize the possibilities.
Imagine a world where the rich were attempting to solve social issues through philanthropy (Gates, Buffet, etc), and the poor/entrepreneurs were trying to solve the issues with innovation. Everyone would bring their greatest assets to the table in the name of progress.
Forget the world where children are starving in third world countries….someone has created a for-profit that gets them food from first world countries efficiently. Forget the world with widespread disease….someone has created a for-profit that efficiently gets vaccine and education to everyone. Forget the world where individuals are destroying the environment…..someone has created a for-profit incentive program to be environmentally conscious.
While these things may not have been created yet, how far away are they? My guess is just a few years until we see them. Why? Because our youngest generations are growing up with a sense of social responsibility to something bigger then themselves. While they will miss the generation of enlisting in the armed forces during wartime, some would argue that they have the potential to be our nation’s greatest generation. Are you willing to bet against them?…..
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/04/mark-zuckerbergs-6-ingredients-for-success/?grcc=33333Z98
This article on TechCrunch caught my eye. Most people would probably remember it because Mark Zuckerberg is mentioned, but something else was interesting to me. The last 2 ingredients mentioned are rarely recognized.
Luck and Timing. Timing and Luck. These two ingredients for success go hand-in-hand. The great entrepreneurs understand that luck has a huge part in their success. No matter how talented you are, never forget that a little luck always help. “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”
Timing works a little differently. Luck finds the entrepreneur but the entrepreneur usually finds the timing. Most great ideas are a product of timing and circumstance. As an entrepreneur, if you can learn to time the market for both entry and exits, you will have great success.
So next time you see a great entrepreneurial story, try to identify the aspects of luck and timing. If you can become good at identifying them in other people’s lives, then you will be prepared when your opportunity arises! Now if only Zuckerberg realized he was good at all this stuff…..
