Why You Should Ditch Your Billion-Dollar Business Ambitions

We all want to build the next Apple, Google or Facebook -- companies worth billions and billions of dollars. But you might want to think smaller, at least initially
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Don't write up a business plan or create a pitch deck for an imaginary billion-dollar business. Instead, go out and create an actual, $1,000 dollar company
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In the biggest twist of all, it turns out that one of the best ways to build something big is to build something small
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The $1,000 startup is a powerful frame to put on your ideas, because it strips the distorting force of market opportunity out of the idea equation. Rather, it properly focuses you on the question of whether you're building something that other people want enough that they're willing to pay you for it. Meanwhile, if you do the work and grow from it, that seed of an idea can sprout into a thriving startup that brings in real money.





Entrepreneurs are a curious bunch.

They come in all shapes, sizes, genders and backgrounds. They get up at dawn. They're the first ones to the office and the last ones to leave. They use productivity apps, network their tooshes off and leave no stone unturned when it comes to pretty much everything.



At best, they make the rest of us humans


Entrepreneurs tend to act like kids in a candy store. Nothing is off limits, everything is for the taking,


"I keep my childlike wonderment alive. I approach the world with curiosity, passion, risk tolerance, and faith -- just like I did when I was growing up. The more traditional companies I worked for out of college not only didn't foster these traits, they flat out discouraged them."




"An entrepreneur's train of thought goes like this: ‘everything around me was invented by someone and that person probably isn't any smarter than I am.' We believe almost everything can be improved upon in some way. We start to imagine what could be instead of what is…the world is malleable and many of the rules that exist are more like guidelines.
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being optimistic is just typically a better way to approach the world, so do it for your own sanity if nothing else
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Entrepreneurs are by nature rule breakers and dissenters. This is an attitude as much as it is a mentality
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"It's hard for me to relate when people can't wait for the week to be over or can't wait to rush out of the office for Happy Hour. My job is never done, nor do I want it to be. That's not to say that I never do things for pleasure, but I am constructing my own life and not constricting it based on someone else's ideas or standards.
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This last point is a direct result of our modern-day reliance on technology as a vehicle for innovation. As Vanderveldt observes:

"Technology has been the common denominator for all the companies I have started -- from data mining to green energy. I believe it is the global equalizer and enabler. Young entrepreneurs and startups need to be focused on (and thinking about) enabling their organization to scale, delivering faster and more efficient results, and maximizing workforce productivity - all of which can be supported through technology."

So whether you're considering getting your feet wet as a first-time entrepreneur, or you are well on your way to entrepreneurial success, keep in mind that how you think is just as important as what you actually do. Thinking like an entrepreneur requires a unique approach to the world and a mindset to help view the world as limitless in its possibilities for improvement, change and, ultimately, innovation.