Follow the Jumping Duck

I usually don't post about business stuff here, but I thought I'd break that pattern today - because it's a day of accomplishment.

Back in April, I finally pulled the trigger on starting my own publishing company, Jumping Duck Media. I registered the name with the state, bought a whole lot of Internet real estate (not really "real" estate, more like "virtual" estate, meh), and started talking up my new idea. As my brother would say, though, I was "all talk."

In reality, the idea of owning my own company and being self employed scared me to death. It still does, a little. Today, though, I realized a great many things.

1. I actually know what I'm doing - I went to business school and got a fancy degree that tells the world I know how to manage a business, so why not manage my own business? The principles are the same and, now that I'm in the throw of things, it's a lot easier than I thought it would be.
2. I like to try new, exciting, frightening things - Sometime I have to remind myself how much I like the adrenaline rush of doing something new and unexpected. I spend so much time worrying about what could go wrong that I forget it's the actual execution I enjoy.
3. Every successful businessman started somewhere - Every great company started from a single idea and, in most cases, a single visionary trying to act on that idea. Yes, even the Microsoft giant started small ... so why can't I?

So here I am, ready to actually take on my first handful of writers and first couple book projects. Getting to here I've been publishing blogs and social networking sites, some of which are actually seeing success! In under a month, InspiredSmiles.com has collected 50 stories!

Am I still scared? You bet! But at the same time, I'm trying to harness that nervous energy to accomplish something wonderful. Wish me luck as I keep going!