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INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | DECEMBER 20, 1999 DEAR DIARY Entrepreneur's Progress: Resolutions for the New Century Boy, it feels great to start afresh. Let's see how long I can keep these vows
 The new century is fast approaching. That motivates people to do a number of things — withdraw cash by the fistful and hoard chicken broth and semi-automatic weapons. The more philosophical among us will take stock of where we've been and where we're headed.
Now I'm not one for New Year's resolutions. I typically grant myself amnesty two days after I make them. The urge to start the century with a clean slate exists nonetheless. So here are some of the things I'd like to improve about myself next year: Do unto telemarketers... They're only making a living, and I've made a cold call or two in my day. So I will do my best to listen politely. That said, the first idiot who starts in with: "Lemme ask you something" after I tell him I'm not interested will feel the full wrath. (This is what I mean about resolutions.) Stop acting like a martyr in the office. Being the boss doesn't give me a license to walk around scowling when I'm not a happy camper. Why should my employees suffer, too? So I'll put on a happy face and smile down adversity. And those guys better notice, too. If I hear one word about how down I look from anyone... Well, I'll let 'em off with a warning this time. Neither a chump nor a stiff be. This is the last year clients will be able to take advantage of what a nice guy I am and end up owing me money for a year. I'm a reasonable person. I vow to work on being a lot more unreasonable in such cases. Enough of my multiple personalities. I will definitively stop trying to fill all the roles in my company simultaneously. I will hire other people. I'm proud to report progress already. Now I'm going to use every dime that comes in to hire more people. I don't know where I will put them since we've outgrown our new offices already. No matter. One more point: One of those hires will handle payroll, accounts receivable, and our checking account. If I don't find someone soon to take this over, you'll read about me in the paper. I'll be the formerly respectable guy from Long Island, N.Y., who went nuts and holed up in some cabin in Maine, shooting at squirrels and anything else that came by. No more kowtowing to banks. It's time to attract real investors. At 48, I should still be able to get a piece of that Internet venture-capital pie. Next year, we will get at least one round of financing for a new Internet-based staffing business. Yes! And if not, we'll launch with what we have and still kick butt. We're bad! Stop working Saturdays. I actually like working on Saturdays, so why should I take normal weekends? I don't know, but the goal sounds good. Take a vacation (see above). This is also a classic Catch-22. We need money to go away. And how do we make money, class? By working. Very good. That's why we take no vacations. There you have it. I will try to save enough money to take time off. This won't be easy. I could go on and on, but the last thing on my list was a vow to make shorter to-do lists. I think I'll start right now. Happy 2000. George.  George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com  | | |
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