I recently had the pleasure of planning my son’s first birthday party. Mason loves cars so Stacy and I didn’t have much to think about when it was time to pick a theme for the event. What I failed to realize is the effort that goes into something as simple as a party for children. At first glance you think “Ahh a few balloons, party hats, cake, and presents.” But to truly put together a well organized event, regardless of what it may be, you need to make the proper arrangments. Our apartment is far too small to have over anymore then a handful of people at a time. So we started by renting the elementary school gymnasium. Plenty of open space but not too big. It gave a nice setting without people sitting on top of each other. Without going into every little detail we feel that our first attempt at a birthday party was an overall success. But the lessons I have taken from that day will stay with me. I feel these can be applied in all social gatherings. I see too many people today who just don’t have a clue when it comes to presenting. Whether it be a party, on stage, or any real gathering of the minds. Here are some items I feel are keys to wowing your audience and make them come back for more:

1. Know your audience: This is without a doubt the most important item and I am starting with it simply to set the tone. If you do not have a grasp of who your people are, party over. You might as well show them the door and go have a good cry. In our case the audience were a dozen children under the age of ten. When broken down we had a certain number of girls and only a few boys. This had to be taken into consideration. This was a boy party but you need to provide a setting in which there is something for everyone to enjoy. Luckily younger children are not too picky when it comes to interests.
2. Content, content, CONTENT: Alright you have your audience. Now what? Well you are the host which means these children are bascially under your control for the next three hours. Kids get bored easily so activities are essential to KEEPING your audience. In our case we set up four different games for them to participate in with the winners getting prizes. We kept the rule book at home and just let them be kids. They played whatever they liked as many times as they liked. Giving your audience a sense of control in the direction of the party is win-win for everyone. They are interacting with each other and hopefully enjoy their time in return.
3. You are the host, you are the master: Unfortunately being the host of the party takes its toll. You have to constantly be moving and interacting. In our case that meant getting involved with our two audiences, the parents and the children. It is your job to greet them, socialize with them, and thank them for coming. You have to be able to communicate. Interacting is a two way street. You have to speak up but most importantly you need to take in as much as possible. Your audience (there is that word again) is the reason for your very existence on this day. Without them you are standing in an empty room.
4. Learn to expect the unexpected: Things rarely go as planned, especially with children. Surprisingly we only had one case in which a kid cried. Luckily for us it was because of a toy and not injury. But in any situation you have to be ready for things to blow up. You can plan it down the very second and nine times out of ten things will change. It is up to you to adapt to the situation and take it on. Whether it be an unexpected question (or gift.)
5. Send them packing: No I don’t mean kicking them out. In the case of our party we were there to celebrate the first birthday of our son. But we wanted to give in return. Our guests had taken the time to attend and share our special day. We felt it was right to try and thank them. Since our main audience was the children we made up individual goody bags for each child that came as a way of returning the favor. They came, participated, and showed interest in what we presented. For that they took something away with them. The looks on their faces sealed the deal for us. We had accomplished our goals.

I am quickly learning that startups are like infants. You have to baby them and treat them well as just like a baby, they are fragile and delicate. But hopefully as you care for them they develop and start to care for themselves. To acheive this goal you need help. One person cannot do it all and expect much success. I will get into the wonderful world of financing at a later time. (please note the sarcasm)

Assembling the right team means a number of things but the most important reason is to reduce the stress and workload that you would carry. Having the right people means that they can do some of the thinking for you and be able to make decisions without always needing your approval. You can expand on other roles and not have to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. But at the same time it gives you a chance to focus on the fine details that you would often overlook due to either time restraints or just not thinking of them at all.

Assembling a team is a tall task in itself. But assembling the “right” team is an even larger task. You have to ask yourself who you are looking for in a person. That can be many things to many people. Our startup is currently a team of two. And with both of us being young dads if can really put a strain on our development time to care for that other “baby.”

We are currently assembling the rest of our core team. These will be the guys that help shape our product and create a working model of it. Then we will go from there. But for right now this is priority number 1.

Without a doubt one of the biggest personal obstacles in life is the risk of failure. When a person thinks of failure they instantly get a negative vibe. While this is mostly the case one needs to take a different approach to failure and ask themselves these questions:

1. What can I do differently to prevent this result?

If you can answer this then not only have you kept your sanity, but also realize that their is a lesson to all of this. Lessons are what life is all about. The more you learn, the more you grow and can instill these lessons to your colleagues.

2. Who am I and where do I go from here?

As a child you are always told that you can be whatever it is that you choose. The push this on you until you take it for granted. Then after school reality hits and you realize it isnt that easy. They never teach about things going wrong and obstacles getting in the way. That would ruin the surprise known as adulthood. Yes, I believe that you can be whatever it is you desire. But in order to do that you need to keep a clear focus on that goal. My father told me one time in a heated argument that it’s “NEVER over.” Those are words I will keep with me forever. As long as the horse is alive you can always climb back on. Don’t let failure control you. You can try again.

3. You will never succeed if you don’t try…

Really what is their to lose? Money, your personal belongings, friends, family? Your true friends and loved ones will believe in you and be with you till the very end. As for money and personal items, thats all they are…possessions. Don’t let these things stop you from taking that leap. These things which are nice really mean nothing in the long run. If you live your life in fear of what could happen then you aren’t really living at all. Your just getting by. I believe our time is too short to peddle around dreading the worst. No success story ever involved sitting on the couch afraid to open the door. You want change? Change it. You want a better life? Get it. It’s your life.

These are just a few of the items I am constantly trying to live by as I take these next steps forward. Failure isnt just about losing. Failure is just another chapter (and lesson) in life.

Well here I go. Without the first post sounding too cheesy I will try and provide a summary of my thoughts on how I plan to shape this “blog” before I get too far in.

I am Andy Watkins and I am a web-aholic. Ask my wife and she will agree. But kidding aside I am deciding to publish my journey into the big and scary world of internet startups. No my blog is not my company. I thought I would provide not only a journal for myself to reflect on but a way for aspiring web creators of all kinds to read. Maybe they can use my experiences and learn from them. At least that is what I am hoping for.

I am a 24 year old small town wanderer trying to find his place in a big city high tech environment. I work here in town slaving away at a sign manufacturer mainly for the insurance. And in my spare time I have been a consultant for various small businesses in the area looking to take that next step. My loves include my family, football, racing of all kinds, and getting the most I can out of what I have.

If I have my way the plan is to get the ball rolling quickly and having a full summary of my startup to be named later for all to see. Our team will also be establishing a blog that contain thoughts from all members of our group and hopefully some guest writers.

Thanks to all.