Derek Sivers – A New Kind of Entrepreneur

Derek Sivers - Anything You WantCreator

Derek Sivers the founder of CD Baby once the largest seller of independent music on the web with more than $100 millon in sales for over 150,000 musician clients. He later sold this business for $22 million.

Purpose

Given his success, a lot of people were asking Derek for advice on how to approach their lives or their business. This is his experience and philosophies from the ten years he spent starting and growing a small business.

Manifesto

  • Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
  • Making a company is a great way to improve the world while improving yourself.
  • When you make a company, you make a utopia. It’s where you design your perfect world.
  • Never do anything for the money.
  • Don’t pursue business just for your own gain. Only answer the calls for help.
  • Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently promoting what’s not working.
  • Your business plan is moot. You don’t know what people really want until you start doing it.
  • Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people.
  • You can’t please everyone, so proudly exclude people.
  • Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
  • The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.

Source

In a chapter titled ‘What’s your compass?’ of Derek Sivers’ book Anything You Want he offers the above words as some of his common themes. (Pages 2-3)

Comment

A classic rule based manifesto.

What I like about this one is that it’s a personal manifesto he applied to his own business. As he suggests in his book, “This is most of what I learned in ten years, compacted into something you can read in an hour.” (Page 1)

More

If you want more the sub-title of the book is: 40 Lessons for a new kind of Entrepreneur – read the rest of the book. It’s short, engaging and insightful.

Derek Sivers website – includes links to videos of his presentations

Derek’s most popular presentation – How to start a movement

Ian Berry – Changing What’s Normal

Geoff McDonald – The Expert Manifesto

The Flying Solo Micro and Small Business Manifesto

 

Clare Lancaster: Women in Business

Women in Business Manifesto

Creator: Clare Lancaster, Women in Business
Purpose: Inspiration and tips for women who are writing their own success stories.

Manifesto

Women in Business Manifesto

1.    Follow your passion, it knows where you should go
2.    Help people
3.    Explore, play, laugh, enjoy
4.    Move more, stress less
5.    Set and celebrate milestones
6.    You have to put something out there to get something back
7.    Everything you want and need is up to you to make happen
8.    Carve a niche
9.    Get it out there
10.    Make your own path
11.    Define what success looks like for you then go after it
12.    Do it now
13.    Collect experiences, not things
14.    Ignore doubters, even when they’re in your own head
15.    Embrace online business
16.    Believe in yourself
17.    Simplicity is key
18.    Nourish your mind and body
19.    Take time out often
20.    Be your own hero
21.    Give yourself permission
22.    Trust your instincts
23.    Take it one step at a time
24.    Leverage everything
25.    Build your days around what is important to you
26.    When you’re doing what you’re passionate about you’re making the world a better place
27.    Never stop learning and experimenting
28.    The less you spend, the more you have
29.    Be thankful
30.    Look at your goals every day

Sources

Manifesto: http://www.womeninbusiness.com.au/_blog/Style_and_Substance/post/manifesto

Thanks to Ainslie Hunter for suggesting this manifesto!