The Research Design Associates Blog

As a young businessperson, it’s encouraging to be reminded that your efforts and your voice matter. As it turns out, over 50% of the world’s population is under age 27, which puts me just barely in the minority at the tender age of 28. Regardless, it’s eye-open to recognize this statistic and not take for granted being young. The World Economic Forum joins forces with communities to identify, mentor and empower the leaders of tomorrow.

They say, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ and this speaks to the power of habit. The older we get, the more set in our ways we remain. This only adds to my point that the older we get, the harder it is to trend away from the lessons of our childhood to ‘not fail’ and find whatever means are necessary to ‘succeed’. What some of us realize is that ‘to succeed’ in the professional world by maintaining a paying job in-and-of-itself doesn’t always equate to satisfaction. If one chooses to move from that path of perceived success to the world of the entrepreneur, where ‘failure’ becomes a much more likely possibility, it’s challenging to believe in yourself, face the fear, and more so, to overcome the hesitations and questions of your support system who generally were also raised to fear ‘failure’

While certainly it's not always been any easy ride, I've never felt like I've been so true to myself in my work life before. To make your own schedule, be the one holding yourself accountable, and build a brand that lives or dies based on your efforts is nothing short of invigorating. So, while it's not 'secure' to work for yourself in the start up years, it certainly feels good to know the uncertainties in-and-out and do everything in your power to make things successful. "Top 10 Non-Negotiable" list for myself of my job and work environment

How can one integrate the existing company workers with the new technology and the new hire. The growth of computing and internet capacity in the past 30 years has allowed the decentralization of management and the decreased the value of large size as a requisite for competitive success. Today product development and innovation can take place where the talent and creativity are and not be restricted to corporate headquarters. Increasingly the talented and highly educated workforce located well beyond our shores. This allows small business from around the world to enter markets previously closed to them.