What is the number one rule for an entrepreneur?

Rule #1 - Fail wisely, but by all means, do not be afraid to fail.

While this may be difficult to hear, in my experience failure is fundamental to being an entrepreneur. The truth is, the odds are not real good when you start a new business. While we have all heard the stories of people who have an idea, start in the garage and end up on Wall Street, we hear about these stories because they are so rare and they are news.

The untold stories are those who have an idea, start in the garage, and end in the garage. Failure is a part of being an entrepreneur. If we are afraid to fail, however, the ideas never get to the garage.

If failure is fundamental to entrepreneurship, then the key is learning how to fail. If you spend a lot of money and lot of time on an idea and it does not work, then you have lost a lot of money and lot of time. You may have learned a lot, but at a great cost. While this sounds so simple, for most entrepreneurs it takes a while to figure out.

What I have finally learned is that if you invest a little money and little time and the idea is not successful, you still have learned but have not lost a lot. I like to call this Rapid Cycle Failure. Develop an idea and get it going as quickly and for as little money as possible. Most will probably fail, but if you do several you have a chance that at least one will be successful.

This is really a hard lesson for entrepreneurs. I believe the reason is that most of us have a dream of hitting a home run. And home runs must require a lot of planning and obviously a lot of money. Most of the time we never get the idea to the garage, and if we do our odds are not very good.

Learn to fail quickly and inexpensively. Always learn from the failure and occasionally you will hit that home run.

Why a blog on entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is one of a few topics that I find to be extremely interesting and exciting. And I have had the privilege of spending much of my career in entrepreneurial settings.

Some people spend their careers employed by large corporate, government or nonprofit organizations, and find it to be very satisfying and rewarding. Others of us have spent much of our working lives in small organizations and sometimes in startups, and we find it thrilling and exciting.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is extremely rewarding to see an idea in one's head or written in a business plan become reality. It is also terrifying and depressing to skip paycheck after paycheck so the organization hopefully will survive.

I have had the opportunity to work in a large bureaucratic organizations and in entrepreneurial organizations. I have had the thrill of seeing an idea become reality and I have skipped paycheck after paycheck--and wondered if I would survive. In addition, I have had the privilege of working with others on this exciting journey as a principal in a seed investment firm.

As our economy faces real challenges, many who are more comfortable in large, more stable environments are being forced to experience entrepreneurship, like it or not. This blog is about the thrill and terror of the journey--and lessons learned.

Please join me in exploring a topic that I find fascinating and that that today is gaining many reluctant participants