Devesh started his first business, a comic books rental company, when he was only 14, and since then he has founded and co-founded several businesses. He has an MBA and worked for multiple Fortune 100s in corporate America, but, being a square peg, he never fit in that round hole. Today he loves helping aspiring entrepreneurs.

Many thanks to Devesh for his insight and to our inquisitive GenJuicers.

Question 1

Hi Devesh! What is a brief checklist of what should be accomplished for your business before walking away from your 9 to 5?

Well, the first one is finding a profitable idea by rigorously testing out the many "wonderful" ideas you're flirting with!

Second would be finding your survival model - A. Will you flip burgers and work on your startup? B. Will you stay in some part-time job while you build your startup and C. Will you help another startup to make some money while you work on yours as well (learning benefit)?

Point is “burn the ship and bridges” is a romantic notion of walking away from 9 to 5; however, you’ve got to be careful about a lot of unromantic stuff in building a business before you get to that romance.

Question 2

What are some (ethical) ways for someone to leverage the resources at their current full-time job for a business they're building on the side?

1. Read the employee handbook.  I know I know; no one does, and you don't look cool while reading, but that's your Bible to understanding what is and isn't acceptable at your employer, so make sure you find out your limits and respect them.

2. Make sure you don't steal - the hours or goodies!!

3. Build strong relationships and most importantly build as strong relationship with your immediate boss as possible. Then leverage that to get some special permissions like telecommute, or flexible hours etc to better manage your time and productivity at both your job and the side gig.

‎4. Learn the industry, and use this time to dig deeper into and test all your ideas. You gotta come up with an idea that's profitable and sustainable and doesn't just sound like it. Understand what you're going to do and why will someone pay for it.

Question 3

What are some websites/books/other resources that could help in transitioning from a standard 9-to-5 to working full-time on my venture?

I suggest the following: Michael E Gerber's E-Myth; Young Entrepreneur Council; Scott Gerber's Never get a real job; Pamela Slim's Escape from Cubicle Nation; Mike Michalowicz's Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Question 4

I hear you should be making 3x your salary at your side biz before taking it on full time. Is this a good rule of thumb?

You should be grateful if you make 1/3rd of your salary at your startup/side biz before you walk away from your 9 to 5. Of course there are the success stories that we all would love to repeat, but most side businesses would remain side businesses with little or no income unless given due time and investments. I've never heard of this rule, but I suggest don't wait for that day because it's not coming.

I’ve heard the “rule” that you should charge 3X your current hourly rate at the employer, in case you decide to go the consulting or freelancing route, and that makes sense because it takes into account parts of the compensation that we don’t usually count when we look at compensation as factor or our time’s worth, compensation like the vacation, sick days, benefits, bonuses, etc., altogether make up the compensation and not just your salary. It could be good rule; however, pricing shouldn’t be done on such cookie cutter rules.

Question 5

What people/resources/knowledge were most useful to you personally in realizing you could break the 9 to 5 jail?

Well, I was an entrepreneur before going for an MBA and then being sentenced to Fortune 50 jails so for me it was quite a black and white comparison - my experiences at any of the traditional jobs I ever held never came even close to the freedom, the power, the risks and rewards that I had already experienced as an entrepreneur.

Resources and knowledge - 1. I started a Consulting Business on the side where I worked with hundreds of startups and learned a great deal at each one of my assignment. 2. Reading a lot and then writing my own.

Question 6

Can you share an example of someone who was not successful in quitting their corporate job and building a business out of their passion? What can we learn from them?

Of course! Not all stories have a happy ending, and while I would not call any name for being unsuccessful, I would absolutely love to share my observation. Yes it is very important to love and be passionate about what you do. But what's even more critical are survival and success. Nothing will make you money simply because you're passionate about it. You need to build a profitable and sustainable business around that passion, so think of a revenue model. Build a service or product (around your passion) that people need or would pay for. So, marrying your passion with a solid business and revenue model is the key to success. Passion alone will end up being either a nonprofit or failure.

Question 7

As an undergrad about to finish a degree with a specialization in Entrepreneurship, but not currently having "the" idea, what types of jobs or companies are BEST to try and seek employment with in order to build the skill set necessary to be starting my own venture a few years down the road?

Working at any startup or recently successful startup would be great start simply because you get to see the struggle, the hustle, and the challenges first hand. Plus, since you'll be away from corporate bureaucracy, you'll learn more.

Question 8

What are some ways to develop and build key business skills and experience in finance and entrepreneurship?

‎1. Working at a startup or a small business always helps simply because the closer you're to calling the shots or whoever is calling the shots, you understand this game better.

2. Consume, but spit it out too. When you read a book or blog, make sure you comment on or review the content you just consumed, this helps you better understand what you just read and gives YOU a voice as well.

3. Consulting small businesses can be another successful way to be closer to them, getting to see them inside out and develop skills.

Question 9

I've been researching and educating myself on business and finance for the last two years. I really want to take it to the next level now, but I want it to be official and thoroughly planned. I want to star a T-shirt company but I really need insight on the best steps to take in general.

Two years, wow. Sound like you're waiting for the perfect time! I'd highly recommend not waiting any longer and starting to take some action steps towards turning your idea into a business.

1. At this point I would suggest you document a Business Action Plan. Simply pick every element of your business (Idea, Target Market, Product, Operations, Strategy, Marketing, Finances etc) and add details to each element in precisely six dimensions – What, Why, Who, How, When, and Action Steps. Remember, our mind is incapable of having a plan inside; we can conceive ideas in our mind but not a plan because an effective plan is when you pen down the idea and add all the elements of execution to it.

‎2. I would also identify your USP (Unique Selling Point)... in the age of threadless, cafepress where I can get a custom T to GAP & Armani Exchange and many in between, how is your T better or cheaper or exclusive or simply put, why should I buy it?

Question 10

Can you give us tips for assessing the sustainability of a "side hustle" or "idea" before attempting to leverage it as a full-time business?

I suggest work on making money with your idea first, doesn't matter how much, just find real customers to pay for your service or product, this takes care of the profitability and feasibility of the idea. Then look at your product and service from a scalability point of view, could this be multiplied and grown bigger with and without you. Last but not the least, understand the long term potential of opportunity. Is your product or service based on a current trend or fashion that will fade away sooner or later? Or is it based on a nuts and bolts opportunity in the market? I'm sure you'd know the answer.

Question 11

Do you feel time efficiency is key in big any successful business? Do you feel that maximum effort exerted into business will reap best results?

Work smart or hard isn't the question in a startup setting. You gotta smartly work very hard in order to build a business. This means leverage the tools and technologies available to not waste or duplicate your efforts. I believe rewards are directly proportional to risks and efforts so if you put in side gig efforts and take side gig level risks, it will always remain a side gig. You know what to do!

Comment from a fellow Genjuicer: I think you need to know your audience and what they find value in too.

Question 12

Can you name three businesses you're a fan of and why?

Apple Apple Apple! Steve Jobs is a great example of being a true entrepreneur who knows how to spot an opportunity and build a winning product or service around it.

Question 13

What is the best way to build "advisors" to share in one's business idea?

1. Ask!
2. Work with biz bloggers and advisors; you'll be surprised that we are very easy to work with.
3. SCORE or SBDC is your city could be a great FREE resource.
4. Successful business owners in your neighborhood or online (LinkedIn FB etc all have the groups and forums of almost all industry and expertise)
5. Forget the NDA unless it's a "rocket science" formula you've figured out.

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alejandra_fausto/5450987667/

And why shouldn’t you? Most people do, especially when it comes to business or career success. But how many individuals actually reach those goals in a given year?

To set yourself up for success, you probably realize how vital having a clear plan and timeline for reaching your goal can be. But it takes more than that to actually achieve the goal.

What Mark Murphy, founder and CEO of Leadership IQ, found through examination of studies from neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics, as well as studies from businesses from his own company, is that you must tap into your mind’s various systems to achieve something you’ve set out to do.

He discovered that goal success is determined on the engagement of your brain. And he believes that to truly achieve your goals, you need to radically change how you set them.

In his book, HARD GOALS: The Secrets to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Murphy discusses the benefits of setting HARD goals— Heartfelt, Animated, Required and Difficult. This involves visualizing your goal, building a strong emotional connection to it, making it difficult to procrastinate and choosing to challenge yourself by focusing on a difficultly.

Here is each step of the process, explained in more detail by Murphy:

Heartfelt

Develop deep-seated and heartfelt attachments to your goals on levels that are intrinsic, personal and extrinsic. Use these connections to naturally increase the motivational power you put behind making your goals happen.

Animated

Create goals that are so vividly alive in your mind that to not reach them would leave you wanting. Use visualization and imagery techniques to sear your goal firmly into your brain including perspective, size, color, shape, distinct parts, setting, background, lighting, emotions and movement.

Required

Give procrastination (which kills far too many goals) the boot. Convince yourself and others of the absolute necessity of your goals and make the future payoffs of your goals appear far more satisfying than what you can get today. This will make your HARD Goals look a whole lot more attractive and amp up your urgency to get going on them right now.

Difficult

Construct goals that are optimally challenging to tap into your own personal sweet spot of difficulty. Access past experiences to use them to position you for extraordinary performance. Identify your goal setting comfort zone and push past it in order to attain the stellar results you want.

Forget about setting goals that you don’t feel passionately about. Instead, work toward something you feel a strong emotional connection to and you might be successful.

What are your goals for the year? How will you achieve them?

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• -Why do we have dress codes when we sit in a cubicle all day?
• -Why can't I work from home if I can get more done?
• -Why do we have so many meetings?
• -Why do we still send out resumes that say nothing about who we are?
• -Why are we supposed to work here twenty years when we don't enjoy it?
• -Why are we expected to work longer hours with less benefits?
• -Why are college degrees leaving us unemployed?
• -Why are these systems screwed up?
• -Why can't I work for myself?
• -Why hasn't anyone changed this already?

And this list goes on...

While I prefer our generation not to be compared to a group of 4-year-olds, I do think it's about time someone started asking questions. With technology, social and environmental changes it certainly can be said that the world we live in today is not the same as the world in which we grew up.

Rather than giving up or being bitter about the set ways of companies, life, and society, vow to improve it. For example, if you hated being treated like crap as an intern, refuse refuse to go on a power trip when you rise in the ranks; instead, treat your intern how you wish you would have been treated.

That being said I challenge Gen Y to not only ask for change, but to make it!

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefz/7723520/

Listed below are real-life conversations and experiences that I've had in both places.

Getting Around

Cairo: Walk, turn, taxi, Arabic, frustrated, go, stop, finally!

Korea: Walk, look, turn, stare, subway, whisper, club, picture, Korean?, laugh

Conversing with locals

Cairo: "Where are you from?" California. "Do you know the song, 'Hotel California?'" I do.

Korea: "High five." Laugh. "Do you know 50 Cent? Eminem?" No, do you know Korean popstars?

Cairo: In Arabic, "I want two tickets to Alexandria, leaving on Saturday night." What class. "Huh?" WHAT CLASS? "I don't know what that means." UGH (turning to my Canadian friend) in English: Hello. Where would you like to go today...

Korea: In Korean, "Water and rice please." Two seconds later it's on my table.

We'll see how the rest of my experiences shape up as I learn more Korean and am able to converse with the locals who don't speak English.

Image Credit: Justin Hinton

I still get the shakes when I think about the first time my family dog, a gorgeous black and brown German Shepherd named Hazel, didn’t appreciate me attempting to ride her like a horse and instead threw me off into the front yard.  Denied!

Some of those same feelings of rejection have come my way since I’ve embarked on the journey to create a business venture that meets my needs for social change and cash and change.

I’m fully convinced that the entrepreneurial process is more mental than money, more spiritual than sales.

It is more than a job, certainly more than a hobby or project.  If you are fully investing yourself into the actualization of your ideas, the process should be a transformative one, working over your mind and psyche, and in the end endowing you with a new venture to bring good to the world and yourself, as well as a new perspective on your day-to-day living.

One of the earliest lessons I have learned is that tenacity and efficacy are required of an entrepreneurial-minded individual if they are to reach this height of independence, success and self-actualization.  This is true whether your entrepreneurial mindset leads you to a new business, new nonprofit advocacy group or even a new project or program within your current organization.

You should be willing to face the inevitable rejection and still "climb back on the dog" if you truly believe in the convictions of your ideas.  We often hear that X percentage of new business ideas never make it to Y phase of the business development process.  The data may be accurate, but they may not be wholly inclusive.

How do you factor in the inability of some people to pick up what could be roadblocks to success and turn them into stepping-stones to the next opportunity that will allow them to grow their dream into a reality? That factor may be the very key to success that burgeoning entrepreneurs need to cross the river from idea to new & thriving enterprise.

It’s widely known that Michael Jordan, the great baller and shot caller, was cut from a high school basketball team because at 5’11” MJ The Soon-To-Be-Great was "too short." Any former student-athlete will tell you about the sting of that kind of rejection (Oh, you gon’ cut ME?!!).

However, to the benefit of the UNC men’s basketball program, the NBA and Nike, Mr. Jordan chose to make that initial rejection a stepping-stone to then become a leading scorer in the Junior Varsity league, making it impossible for him to be cut the next year.  Of course, he went on to make history and become a legacy all because he took the initial rejection in stride and stayed on the court until he became the G.O.A.T.* (Although Derrick Rose is giving him a run for that title…LeBron who?)

On the court or in the boardroom, the strive for greatness requires efficacy and tenacity even more than demonstrated talent or skill.

If you aren’t willing to readjust and learn before returning to your dreams and ideas, even when faced with rejection, how could someone else feel compelled to invest in you and those dreams?  Your ideas may be pie in the sky, but they are still YOUR ideas, your pie and your sky. The rejection can be just the stepping-stones you’ll need to continue on the path to fulfillment of those dreams, if you make it so.

*Greatest of All Time

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Two roommates in their freshman year from completely different backgrounds wanted to join forces and do something.  For two years, they immersed themselves in figuring out what that “something” would be.

Project ACWA (Access to Clean Water for Agyementi) was born.  ACWA brings clean water and Ventilated-Improved-Pit (VIP) latrines to a population of 2,000 in Agyementi, Ghana.

With accolades such as the Rhodes Scholarship and the Hoopes Prize, awarded for outstanding Harvard theses, Darryl and Sangu were recognized for their meticulously planned and successfully executed project.

From Fiery Passion to Global Movement

Darryl and Sangu’s fiery passion inspired students across campus and in the Boston community and has truly created a movement.  Besides assisting other groups engaged in development work, the project motivated Adam Demuyakor to launch the other main ADI effort, Project RISE (Rural Irrigation System for Ekumdipe).

RISE enables farmers to overcome the handicap of a 6-month dry season by using the Daka River to create a thorough water irrigation system.  On March 5, Ekumdipe was able to successfully harvest their first batch of crops during the dry season.  This translates to community members being able to generate income all year long, stimulating small-scale trade growth.

Currently I preside over the undergraduate team of roughly fifteen students to carry out main functions of the organization. Some of our duties are publishing monthly donor newsletters, spreading awareness around campus and at other universities and fundraising.

The Global Giving Open Challenge: How You Can Help

Right now, ADI been tirelessly campaigning in the Global Giving Open Challenge, a competition amongst nonprofits to raise $4,000 from at least 50 unique donors in one month.  As a result of the undergraduate team’s efforts, we have landed a permanent slot on the Global Giving platform, a site that attracts several donors.

Now we're competing for top prizes to earn ADI additional prize money; these are awarded to organizations with the most funds raised, the most unique donors and most Facebook shares.  We are currently in the top for the most unique donors and the most Facebook shares, really symbolizing our grassroots efforts.  Most of our donations are small contributions from college students, and it is clear that all of these contributions add up.

Please support this movement by visiting our Global Giving site, sharing it on Facebook and making a contribution.

I traveled to Ghana this winter with members of the ADI team, and I think back to those experiences every time I post our campaign site link on Facebook or send a personal email.  There are so many things we take for granted in this country.  I believe we must channel our privilege to helping those that need it.  Not only must we channel that privilege, but in the words of a great friend, “We have an obligation to be bold.”  Working with ADI has shown me what bold, meaningful action can be, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Image courtesy of ADI.

It was quite an accomplishment, we learned a lot about execution, we pushed each other, we fought and we saw the light of reprieve at graduation. Then we took a breath and got back to work.

That doesn't sound very glamorous, and the life of a startup founder rarely is in the beginning.

Yes, getting up at noon to start work in pajamas SOUNDS AMAZING because who can turn down zero commute with gas prices climbing? Do you ever ask yourself why entrepreneurs sometimes get a late start? More often than not, team members stay up until 4 or 5 a.m. with developers in another country, while the other is responding to email or writing blog posts because the work day never really ends and once you're in the flow, time flies. If you want to know more, you can read about what a typical day in a startup looks like from my perspective.

Joining a startup incubator was a conscious decision to become a real company. With that decision came consequences just like real life. I committed to move to Seattle for four months and as a team accelerate our progress and learn what it would take to succeed.

Here's a candid look at what happened the last two weeks before graduation.

Since we completed the product development class, Bill was totally focused on creating the iPhone app. When I wasn't working on our pitch deck or financials, I was commenting on mommy blogs, tweeting and writing mom-focused blog posts.

Ironically, I was a thousand miles away from my kids. In between intense feelings of loneliness and homesickness, I also came down with the flu, and I was trying to hold it together to complete the program.

The Difference Requirements Can Make

During this time, we as a team neglected to turn in our weekly company building projects for the Founder Institute. The founder agreement we signed at the beginning of the program stated we had to "Complete weekly session projects and assignments on time."

Adeo Ressi, founder of the Founder Institute and The Funded showed us a slide in our first class of the declining graduation success rate based on the number of missing assignments. Not encouraging numbers, yet as you progress through various milestones it's easy to forget those stats when you're trying to balance your day job, starting a company, and for the ambitious, a social life. Note to entrepreneurs: it's wise to read and double-check legal agreements before signing so you understand what is expected of you and the other party.

The Challenge

Since we were behind on our assignments, I was waiting for the consequence. We weren't alone; it seemed a majority of our semester was in the same boat and hanging on by fingernails. The founders who were falling behind (had weak assignments or missing projects) received a stern email from Adeo before spring break.

The first challenge to stay in the program was to engage with three advisors and have legal documents drawn up by our lawyers to compensate the advisor for her role. The second challenge was to hire an intern to offload some of the work or outsource some of the development. Lastly, we needed to get all company building assignments completed and updated if they were considered weak.

This email created a mini-uprising among the founders and ruffled a lot of feathers. Many phone calls and email messages flew around to understand what we needed to do. We had about a week and a half to complete these challenges or we were going to be booted from the program. During our working group meeting that Saturday, we vented to each other and expressed feelings of anger, frustration, and resignation. I was mostly quiet because I had decided when I packed my bags for Seattle that I would do whatever it took to graduate with my co-founder and launch our company.

Most of us have come a long way in the few short months from refining our ideas, becoming self-aware, growing into leadership roles and gaining confidence in our collective abilities. After venting, most founders decided to step up and meet the challenge. The extra work to stay in the program was a bit disruptive since our facilitator, Dave Parker had given us an assignment to work on our pitch decks for graduation during the break.

Facing Challenges Head On

The benefit of this fire drill was being able to manage multiple deadlines and priorities as a team. Personally, I was extremely impressed by how my co-founder stepped up. We already had informal advisors and we talked about approaching our facilitator to be an advisor to us even after the program ended, Adeo's email moved our deadlines up by several weeks. Our teamwork evolved and grew during that time. We literally worked night and day on each of our priorities and shielded the other from the noise of the little things so we could stay focused. A lot of our 0.1 version of the iPhone app was developed during this intense two-week period.

Lessons Learned from the Quick Fire Challenge

Your peers will be there for you. What impressed me about my peers was their generosity in helping no matter how busy they were. This collaboration helped us grow closer in the days before graduation. If you are an entrepreneur and not in an incubator, create a network of peers by finding entrepreneur meetups in your area.

Fire drills are part of startup life, deal with it or conquer it.

How your team reacts and deals with what appears to be a catastrophe will decide your future success.

Everyday you'll have to do something you've never done before. Learn how to do it or ask someone smarter than you how it's done.

Step up and handle your business. The Founder Institute's strict adherence to deadlines and consequences for failing to meet expectations mimics some of what might happen in real life. The main difference is the consequences given out in the incubator helps prepare the founder to run their company and are meant to help even if it doesn't feel that way at first. You can't make excuses when you're running your own startup. Even when you're sick, deadlines won't move for you like they might in a big corporation, you need to do the work or delegate.

Lastly, there are many different startup incubators; I can speak only for my experience. I've learned so much from the mentors, my peers, our facilitator, and my co-founder. All the hard work from the last four months was like startup boot camp to prepare us to run our businesses and I would gladly go through it again. It's not for the faint of heart, neither is starting your own business. You have to go in there with balls or grow some in the process.

Have you gone through a startup incubator? If so, which one and what was your biggest takeaway?

Founder Institute - Seattle Winter 2010 Companies

Hand Things Down™ Inc.
Are your kids growing faster than your bank account? Get what they need through your friends and local Hand Things Down network.

Snuggle Cloud
Snuggle Cloud is the personal online space for couples.

Ready Pulse
Know your fans. Grow your followers. ReadyPulse provides insight on what works best to grow your audience on Facebook and Twitter.

MeeVine
MeeVine saves time in planning, so you can start doing more.

Skyglue
Skyglue unlocks the power of Google Analytics with super simple tag-free event tracking.

Snappy Desk
Snappy Desk helps real estate pros save time and money.

Oasis Digital, Inc.
Oasis evolves hotel Wi-Fi offerings with customized content, localized and personalized for you visitors.

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Usually, those holidays are about love, but on this day, it’s all sadness for singles.

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Some use such kind words such as lazy and egotistical to describe us, while others merely cite statistics. Good or bad, no one can say we haven't made an impact!

Six Articles Discussing Generation Y

1. For Gen Y, Sports Are for Socializing, Study Says/Michael Hiestand, USA Today

2. Tips for Gen Y: How to Engage Boomers at Work/Dr. Woody, Fox Business

3. Why It's Less Risky to Never Get a "Real" Job/Scott Gerber, Huffington Post

4. Five New Facts About Generation Y/Delia Lloyd,Huffington Post

5. What Is It About 20 Somethings?/Robin Marantz Henig,NYTimes

6. Experts Agree: Gen Y Will Not Grow Out of Social Networking/Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable

What's your take on all the Gen Y buzz?

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It's time for another round of the juicy Facebook Fan Page Live Q & A Series!

Monday's guest will be Devesh Dwivedi, entrepreneur, business advisor and the man behind Breaking the 9 to 5 Jail. Having worked for corporate and Fortune 500 companies, Devesh considers himself a former prisoner of the 9 to 5 who wants to help other "freedom fighters" break out!

Join the GJ community Monday, April 25 from 8 to 9 p.m. ET for the side hustler dish you've been dying to know more about. Fire your questions away, and Devesh will answer them live.

We are actively looking to build up our roster of guest speakers! If you want to step up to the plate, please send an email to gcb@genjuice.com.

See you on the GenJuice Facebook fan page Monday!

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brymo/2807243701