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" Something I've learned is that when people tell me I can't do something, I immediately wonder why and then think it through. It only makes me more motivated to prove them wrong. "

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" There were so many lessons I learned the hard way: missing out on a raise because I didn't know to ask, having colleagues consistently get credit for my ideas because of how I spoke up in meetings. When I looked for a resource that addressed the challenges I was facing, I couldn't find it. There was nothing. "

Kathryn Minshew

Meetings

Ideas

Challenges

" I am a big advocate for having an open discussion about team norms and preferences. At The Muse, some of us like to start working at 7:30 A.M. Others focus best from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M. Create a culture where it's acceptable not to be working when someone else is working. "

" You know, as most entrepreneurs do, that a company is only as good as its people. The hard part is actually building the team that will embody your company's culture and propel you forward. "

" Having a co-founder is incredible, but it has to be the right person: someone who shares your values and ethics, absolutely, but also someone who has a similar vision for the future in terms of their appetite for risk, for low salaries, for hard work. "

" Networking doesn't have to be all about talking shop over appetizers and bad chardonnay - do it in a way that works for you. "

" When I started my first company, I still had a 40-hour a week job. I was working on my company on nights and weekends before I took the plunge and gave up a salary. "

" Get your product in front of actual, living, breathing strangers. Your college roommate's approval does not mean there's market demand. "

" Starting with the values that feel authentic to who you are can serve as a compass to find more meaningful, fulfilling work. "

" Slouching or leaning back may send the wrong signals. When you sit down for a formal interview, lean forward to show interest and active listening. "

" For almost the first year of The Muse's life, I would do 5 to 8 networking events a week. And I don't necessarily think that's the right path for everyone, but I realized that as an entrepreneur, one of my strengths was finding the right people who could help us. I didn't come into startups with any network. "

" I'm an entrepreneur, so I've got to be ruthless about 'me' time if I want to have any left to myself! I make myself leave the office by 8 or 9 P.M. most nights, even if I do curl up with my laptop and a glass of wine at home to get through email. "

Kathryn Minshew

Home

Myself

" When talking to first-time entrepreneurs, I often ask them: 'How do you know that people want your product or service?' As you can expect, the answer is often that they don't yet, but will know once they launch. And they're right. That's why it's critical to launch as quickly as possible so you can get that feedback. "

" It's often said that if doing something was easy, everyone would be doing it. I think that's particularly true when you're trying to make your mark or architect your own career. There's often not a path to follow. "

" My first company failed completely. And it failed at about ten months old. I had about 12 months of savings, so when it failed I was thinking: 'Do I go back to work?' And at that point I believed so deeply in what I was doing that I couldn't imagine anything else other than trying to make this business work. "

" The most important thing in startups is getting a product to market, as imperfect as it may be, and then iterating on it and continually making it better. A first rev of a site that has a few typos may not be perfect, but it was the start of something that I deeply believed in. "

" Don't let that nagging fear - that feeling that being different automatically qualifies you as being wrong - eat away at you. "

" Employees don't need to be best friends, but there does need to be a level of mutual respect and understanding. "

" As a general rule, most recent university graduates know far more about U.S. economic history and 'The Lord of the Flies' than about how the modern workplace functions and how to succeed in it. Yet come senior year of college, it couldn't be more important or more timely to learn the basics of getting a job. "

" Keeping a 'CEO blog' or 'founder's blog' can be a great platform for engaging your users in a nontraditional way, reaching people outside of your product pitch and building rapport without selling them anything except a belief in your ideas. "

" I know, being the odd one out can feel brutal. But, rest assured, it's also wonderful - because your desire to do things differently isn't 'uncool.' In fact, it's the exact opposite. "

" So many of my rookie mistakes could have been avoided by first-hand exposure to other, more experienced technology entrepreneurs. "

" Most weeks, I work 100-plus hours on TheMuse.com. There are definitions of 'work-life balance' that would say I have none. "

" I work late nights catching up on emails, and then, in the mornings, I just hop on my laptop right away. Then, every other day, I'll hop into the shower! My husband is horrified that I don't shower every day. "

Kathryn Minshew

Late

Work

" It's all too easy to forget that cultural fit is a two-way street. Yes, the candidate needs to gel well with your company's vibe and mission. But, you also need to fit in with her desires, goals, and long-term career vision. It's not a one-sided relationship. "

" I had been a veteran of pretty challenging job searches, so I knew firsthand how frustrating, confusing, and demoralizing the job search process can be. Even after you get a job, many people join companies and discover in the first couple weeks that they aren't a good match with the personality and values of the company. "

" I tend to find you have to be fairly vulnerable to get something... to get a perspective worth having. Which can be controversial. But I find telling someone what you're thinking about, what you want, and what you're afraid of can often help them give guidance. "

" You won't be exiled to permanent unemployment just because there's a picture somewhere of you holding a red Solo cup and looking underage. But, your Google results tell a story: Have you been in the news? Authored articles or blog posts? What types of topics do you frequently tweet about? "

" I grew up thinking that I would be an ambassador secret agent. From age 14 to right before I graduated college, I was really interested in the foreign service and the United Nations. I learned to speak French, Turkish, and all these things. "

" Even your most talented employees have room for growth in some area, and you're doing your employee a disservice if the sum of your review is: 'You're great!' No matter how talented the employee, think of ways he could grow towards the position he might want to hold two, five, or 10 years down the line. "

" Done right, a performance review is one of the best opportunities to encourage and support high performers and constructively improve your middle- and lower-tier workers. "