Learn from CD Baby and make $20 million without stress
Story bySteven Carrol
Steven is a web applications developer, living in south of France, originally from London. His current project is Myplaylist.biz. In the nin(show all)Steven is a web applications developer, living in south of France, originally from London. His current project isMyplaylist.biz. In the nineties, he was a designer / director of a highly successful design, manufacturing and distribution company (Intimidation).
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“No Stress!”
I asked Derek a few questions for this article which I hoped might reveal some clues to his success. One of those being, “How did you deal with the stress of running and building such a company”, his answer was very surprising: “No stress, either. I always make sure situations are to my liking, and make me happy. If they’re not, I change them. That way, work is just play, not work”.
In a day and age when stress seems to be rampant, not only does Derek build a company from scratch without VC capital nor any large investments, but he does it without breaking sweat! Nearly every entrepreneur I have come across has grappled with the problem of stress, even the mightyMark Cubanwho doesn’t seem to have found his businesses nearly as painful, talks about his worst moments in theTC50 Calacanis interview.
On the opposite of side of the fence, we have the maverickMichael Robertsonwho has had a long string of successes followed by stress. He formally started MP3.com and lost it to legal assaults in the first bubble and now is again in the midst of yet another legal wrangle with EMI who have been at him and his latest businessMP3Tuneslike a dog with a bone, currently demanding everything from his home to the toilet paper he uses in the mornings!
So what is Derek’s secret to NO STRESS. Derek says hereads a lotthen “wisdom sinks in and just becomes unconscious decisions”. He has written an ebook packed with advice for fellow musicians onhow to be successful, which should no doubt be mandatory reading for entrepreneurs, as it contains many useful insights which are not limited to musicians.
So what is the master of ‘no stress’ going to do next? To lower the stress of artists that’s what! He’s next venture is aptly calledMuckWorkand he is pitching to do the dirty work for musicians so they can concentrate on their art. AsPaul Grahamsays: “Where there’s muck, there’s brass!”
Is the secret to no stress, not to tackle anything that is groundbreaking, rather to muck about doing the donkey work that others cannot stand, in doing so cleaning up?
