TechLifeMashup | Entrepreneurs, Social Media, and Technology

Mashable is a successful social media focused blog, which has obtained great success in just a few number of years.  Anyone into the internet tech scene more than likely knows about Mashable and the content they’ve been serving up since 2005.  While the site now employs a staff of 15, it was all started by one person.  For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Pete Cashmore in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

I’ve never been a fan of working in a cubicle, especially the massive cube farms that seem to be popping up these days at many corporations.  I could go on for hours about this, but that’s another post for another time.  In short, I feel that they are actually a very poor concept, unproductive, and a huge morale crusher!  Most people working the corporate lifestyle don’t often have a choice on the matter though despite the proven fact on this issue, and therefore have to deal with such situations on a daily basis. 


Pam Slim is the author of a book called Escape From Cubicle Nation where she writes about getting out of your cubicle, turning on your brain, and working to make yourself wealthy instead of someone else.  I’m currently in the process of reading it now and have enjoyed it thus far.   Pam herself is a business consultant with a proven track record who also is a strong supporter of startups and self employment.  Check out this interesting video where she highlights some of the main takeaways from her book – quite interesting for any entrepreneur out there:

Reid Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur who has been known to have more connections than anyone else when it comes to business startups.  This fits him well being the founder of LinkedIn and featured previously in our Entrepreneur Spotlight.  Reid is someone who has built numerous businesses out of nothing and created from scratch all of the success that now surrounds him.  Not too long ago, he was on Charlie Rose where he did an interview about being an entrepreneur.  In it he discusses the details and some important lessons he learned along the way that any entrepreneur can and should put into practice with their own business:

Towards the middle of the interview, Hoffman mentions that everyone has the potential and ability to be an entrepreneur.  He references a couple of interesting examples that really drive his point home.  A lot of people often think about starting their own business, but far too often people throw in the towel before they even get started because of preconceived notions that they will fail.  The excuses go on and on, but they shouldn’t.  The people you read about today as being successful with their own business are no different then you or I.  The only difference is they stepped out of the comfort zone and took action on an idea.  It’s never too late for you to do the same.

ProBlogger is a popular blog that offers daily tips and information on running your own successful blog or website.   While this is the primary blog this entrepreneur is known for, he actually has many more than that.   What started out as a simple hobby quickly transformed into a major success for one entrepreneur who found career success through his blog. For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Darren Rowse in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

False stories that people mistake as facts can be trouble for anyone.  Myths as they are called surround all facets of our lives.  So much so that even doing something like starting your own small business is plagued with them.  We all read about the statistics or facts of actually having a successful business.  If you were to just look at the numbers, you might quickly get discouraged as many often do.  That would be a mistake because the fact is that many of those discouraging negative things you’ve heard about starting your own business are actually false.  Today, I’m going to debunk 10 of the more common myths about starting your own business. More »

Google Voice continues to be a popular choice for any entrepreneur running a small business out of their own home and how can blame them.  It’s a free service with a free phone number and plenty of useful features.  The only cost to the end user is for making calls, which similar to Skype is pretty cheap.  While Google Voice is not a actual VoIP service by definition (yet!), it’s still a great product for any entrepreneur at home or on the go with their cell phone.  Thanks to the powers that be and more so to friendly competition, Google Voice is not your only alternative.  Entrepreneurs may be shocked to hear that there is actually another similar free service that goes by the name of Phonebooth, which could serve up some decent competition for the search giant.  This is good news for you and me! More »

Broadcast.com is a successful web radio company that is now owned by Yahoo! as part of their social entertainment services on their website.  Broadcast.com was really the first business to capitalize on internet radio, which made the success of one entrepreneur all the more grand in the end for him.   For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Todd Wagner in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »

Most internet startups and new entrepreneurs typically work out of their own home because it’s cheap on costs and convenient to do so.  While there are some nice benefits to this, working out of your house as an army of one can sometimes have its disadvantages.  It can make it harder to interact with like minded people, which can make developing ideas tricky sometimes.  There is also the whole seperation of work and personal debate that we won’t get into here, but it is worth mentioning.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place where entrepreneurs from all different startups could come and work while at the same time network and share ideas?  Thanks to the folks over at Dogpatch Labs, there is now a place where entrepreneurs of all kinds can come to work, share ideas, and even get some lunch while working on their next startup. More »

More than 50% of all fortune 100 companies are now using Twitter and Facebook actively to market and communicate with customers.  Social Media is slowly creeping its way into Corporate America and the rest of the business world.  I can only say it’s about time.  Small businesses have embraced social media from the start and in many ways paved the path so to speak on best practices when it comes to getting the most for your business from such tools.  One of the most interesting things I think is seeing just how companies are using social media, and how it’s going to continue to change the way business is done on several different levels.  Here now is a awesome infographic that sums it up perfectly.  Entrepreneur or not – this is some cool stuff!  Check it out. More »

Slashdot.com is a technology news site where users submit related content that is then either approved for public view or denied by system administrators.  What started out as a simple hobby blog quickly transformed into a cash  generating machine for one entrepreneur who found career success through this website.   For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Rob Malda in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn. More »