First 90 days of business

Hi World!

Why is the first 90 days so important for a startup? The first 90 days of being in business sets
the foundation for successful survival. What does the first 90 days of learning consist of? An
accelerated MBA course that is not found in any Ivy League University, but rather in the school
of experience in strategic management, human resources, marketing, sales and every thing
else.

It’s been more than 90 days since the doors of The Network Hub opened. My two partners and
I have seen our initial goals fulfilled – a beautiful loft office as a workspace for startups and
small businesses where every one can enjoy the benefits of working together to share
resources and leads.

But before the celebration of meeting the goals, I still remember the 2nd week into construction
of the space I asked myself more than once, what the heck did I get myself into. In the middle
picture, you can see me in the picture pacing and getting a gray hair or two just from seeing
the 1 inch layer of dust on the floor – although it does let me leave a really neat set of foot
prints.

That was May 2006, construction took a little over three months to do but now we have a
beautiful space that we are enjoying with other businesses. Fast forward to January 2, 2007
and The Network Hub now houses over 12 companies in our space and even more utilizing our
services.
The biggest lesson I learned coming out of the 90 days is that knowing what to do is not
enough if you haven’t developed the discipline to do it. You can attend all the seminars, read all
the books and watch all the videos you can watch… but ultimately you cannot understand
business until you are in a business.

Quote for the day courtesy of Stuart Henderson Britt:

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are
doing, but nobody else does”