Not getting paid for your work is a dirty little secret in the entrepreneurial world. One of the reasons it's not a popular topic is because as humans, it can feel embarrassing. It can feel like a failure. Like something we need to hide. As a long-time business owner over the years I lost money by clients who didn't pay. I've fallen into the trap of either not having a contract or more often–not being willing to enforce a contract. Once I learned how to make sure to always get paid for my work my business flourished. Now I have amazing clients who pay me.

I discovered a foul-mouthed but amazing video through Ash Ambirge's brilliant post. Although this talk given at Creative Mornings is aimed at graphic designers, it's still relevant for startups and small businesses. If you're like many entrepreneurs, you probably started your business because your were passionate about the work. Creating contracts and making sure you get paid isn't something you likely enjoy doing or do well. This equation of loving your work but not loving the business/financial side of things can be a dangerous combination. Hoping, praying and crossing your fingers isn't a strategy. It's certainly no way to run a business.

Here's a Strategy:

1. Create strong contracts 

2. Have the inner will/confidence/guts to make sure you get paid

Now go watch Mike Monteiro of Mule Design and his lawyer give you all the advice you need to make sure you get paid for all the good work you do.

2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from San Francisco Creative Mornings on Vimeo.

This post is a personal appeal. A very good friend is in need.

Making a long story short. He was the roof trying to make the season lighter with twinkly lights. He fell. Hurt himself and now can't work. He's just about the kindest man I've ever met. So, the vendors of Coaching Toys are holding a fundraiser to support the family and their medical bills as he recovers. I am participating in the fundraiser and will be donating the proceeds from a few of my sales to the cause. So really it's a a two-fer. By buying the book you get some knowledge on intuition AND you get to help a family in need.

OK, go get it!

Growing up I spent most of my free time doing creative activities: writing, singing, theater and playing 5 instruments. As an adult I've always wanted to support the arts more but wasn't quite at the $100,000 donation level. That's why I love KickStarter. I can support creative endeavors at an investment level that works for me.

While I was in NYC for an extended stay, I walked the High Line along the Hudson from Mid-Town Manhattan down to the Meat Packing district. I loved how the project re-purposed old train tracks into a beautiful space. LowLine, one of the projects I funded, seeks to turn an abandoned trolley terminal into the world's first underground park.

They're 96% of the way there. Wanna help them get the last 4% so they can make their "first" a reality?

The role of women in technology has been talked about endlessly. Normally I stay out of these conversations because we seem to rehash the same thing over and over again. Ugh. I hate endless conversation about problems, preferring to focus on progress and solutions. So, when I felt I needed to step into the digital fray on this issue it's why I focused my post on There is No Pink Tech Ghetto. 

Apparently that little post still has legs because a few weeks ago Forbes writer Meghan Casserly asked for my opinion on the topic. Meghan writes a column that covers women's issues, ForbesWoman. In this article, she questions just who is to blame for the perception that there's a pink tech ghetto loaded with female entrepreneurs. She ends the piece with my quote:

"It paints women entrepreneurs at the helm of high-growth, tech businesses as unicorns who don’t exist.”

They do exist.

And there are statistics that debunk this myth. Check out the article for more enlightening stats as well as a study done by Marian Mangoubi. In her research, Marian notes that the three most populus industries for female entrepreneurs are in technology, business and media & entertainment.

Now, can we put this whole Pink Tech Ghetto Discussion to rest and get back to creating cool things that have an impact? Or better yet.

Find a cool woman entrepreneur.

Support her.

Spread the word about what she's doing.

Just a wee rant about a lil something in startup land that I like to call The Field of Dreams Fallacy. Yes, I am making a funny face. I'm still learning how to use video editing software. So can we just agree to ignore the still at the beginning of the video and pay attention to the content?

Alright?

Alright.

Here we go.

A few months back I signed up for something called Twylah. It presents your story through a collection of tweets in an organized magazine format. I forgot all about it until I got message from them today. Looks like they need to do a better job marketing the business and making the service sticky. But…that's a different post.

Back to love. Twylah organizes your tweets by frequent topics. Coincidentally, on cupid's day this was a part of my recap.

What is Twylah trying to say about my love life?

All these guys are carrying a torch for me?

I'm on fire?

I've torched my love life to hell?

What caption would you give for this story?

P.S. The best caption wins a free copy of my intuition ebook.

Time travel and their accompanying time machines have always fascinated me. Most of my favorite films and books play with the notion of time (The Matrix, The Time Traveler's Wife, Pulp Fiction, Timeline, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency to name a few).

A desire to relive happy moments, make a different choice (uber short bangs as a college freshman) or make a different decision to see how my life would turn out are the impetus.

I've created my own sort of time machine with my A Simple Question practice. Looking back to what was going on a year ago affords the opportunity to measure which direction my life is going. Knowing this arms me with the information I need to engineer a turnaround or continue what I'm doing.

Now there's Timehop, a service that reminds you what was going on a year ago. It gives me a quick, easy way to connect with my year-ago self.

A year ago I was nursing a relationship hangover, taking a memoir writing class, trying to decide where I wanted to live and looking for my next gig. Can you say transition? I actually love times like this when things are so raw and…so free. A year later I oddly find myself in another transition–by choice. Once again I have consented to lose sight of the shore to discover new land (credit to Andre Gide).

I am a woman without a permanent address or long-term gig at the moment. Being betwixt and between can be challenging, requiring a zen state of mind. Time traveling back 365 days was a great reminder that I've been here before and that things always work out in beautiful if unexpected ways.

There's something about a sister. You love 'em. You can't turn 'em into a brother.

Or, a really nice Prada purse. I'm sure my sister, a major fashionista, would appreciate a really nice pair of Louboutin's rather than having to deal with me sometimes. You can't blame her. I mean, unlike me, shoes don't ask to stay in your extra bedroom, drool all over your expensive clothes and use you as a personal concierge right?

My sister and I have always been a study in contrasts where our differences were more numerous than our similarities. Other than a lovely pair of parents and two older brothers that is. After spending more than a decade in Chicago, I decided to move to Boulder nearly 3 years ago. This month I decided to go back to visit after a 2 year absence. This time the differences in who we are and how we live our lives became even more pronounced.

My sister generally lives a life of stability and order. She married, became a mother of two beautiful girls, is an immigration lawyer for a major corporation and remained a very pragmatic woman with a great deal of focus and will power.  She has impeccable taste and always looks amazing.

Her sister is not any of those things. Single and childless, I have a strong wanderlust and once lived in 6 different places in a year and a half. I help tech startups and growing businesses create strong marketing programs and haven't held a "real" job in a number of years. While pragmatism runs in the family, the stronger part of me leans more towards creativity, independence and fluidity. My style tends to be much more casual, my clothes don't always *quite* match and I'm prone to wearing skulls on my clothing and jewelry.

As you can imagine, the lenses with which we view the world come in very different shades. Let me demonstrate…

Upon seeing this photo of my dog my sister asked:
"Is your dog wearing a necklace?"
Um, that's a dog collar.

I'm still chuckling over that one.

Of course a few hours later I was the one who uttered:
"I think she hurt her paw."
About my 6 year old niece.

I'm sure my sister thought it was a very good idea that I didn't have children.

Families are funny. Sisters even more so. As the holidays rapidly come to a bittersweet end I'm sure you can relate. You might be wondering if an alien stork brought that sibling or cousin to the doorstep instead of a version that seemed more like you. But having someone who shares your blood but a very different perspective is a good thing. Difference is what makes the world a rich beautiful place and what makes it turn on it axis.

And? While trying to walk in my sister's size too big Louboutins may not be easy at least I get some really nice hand-me-downs that I'd never be able to afford. And, she gave me the two most beautiful nieces I could ever have hoped for.

Yep. I'm a lucky girl.

Creative? Have ideas but don't always know how to execute them in the way you see them in your head?

Ira Glass has a few words for you.

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Failure is tough for most of us. In the corporate world it's might easier to stave off the failure beast by shears numbers but it's endemic to startup life. So if you want to be in that world you're gonna have to learn how to get cozy with it.  Don Dodge of Google recently spoke about this topic at the TechStars founders' conference in Las Vegas. Here are a few of my favorites gems.

Don Dodge:

"Success is a terrible teacher. It masks underlying problems."

"Failure is making a mistake twice and not learning from it."

"Failure is one of the steps you have to take to get to success."

Cozying Up to Failure

For me the most surprising piece of wisdom is that success isn't a great teacher but that failure is. And, it's truly the only way to success. So, embrace the fact that you're going to fail and curl up with this informative talk from This Week in TechStars. If you're like me it will help you beat back the failure shame monster so you can go forward and create.