How does ego affect your entrepreneurial spirit?

It's funny how one day you can go from feeling like Clark Kent in Superman (you can kick ass and have your feature article proofread and handed in on time) one day, and then the next it's as if someone slipped Cryptonite in your cereal.

Have you ever felt your mood shift from an A+ to a D- in only a 24 hour time span?

This week I had signed up for New York's Entrepreneur Week, held at Columbia University.  Entrepreneur week is a series of panel discussions and seminars in which, successful entrepreneurs come to discuss their experience before and after the success of their company.  These are people who are generating millions of dollars a year in revenue, and I was surprised (and even relieved)to find out that even they had times where they woke up feeling more like Eeyore instead of Tigger.

The hardest part for me is trying to find my focus.  I have SO many interests and goals, that sometimes I get weighed down and overwhelmed by the thoughts running around in my mind.  I've decided that I don't want to be just specialized in one field when "I grow up."  Through my work experience I've learned a lot about what I don't want in my life.  And, now I feel that during my unemployment and thanks to learning opportunities like entrepreneur week, I am beginning to find a clearer sense of what I do want.

So here is what I've come up with so far: I want to be a media mogul who develops what I like to call "boutique restaurants" as a hobby.  What are boutique restaurants you ask? They are chic, gourmet, restaurants that serve as a comfort spot for comfort food.

What do you think? Does anyone share the same series of interests? of mood swings?

Nothing Comes for Free

Picture of me with the NBC camera crew & NY1 covering a story at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Wait one moment and the doctor will be right with you" the secretary told me after I signed in at my doctors office. Great! I thought, I had a 7pm appointment with my doctor, but after recieving a phone call earlier that day asking me to try and make it in before then, I rushed home after work, got my car keys and took off to Queens, where my doctors office is.

6:05pm, not bad... I made it to my doctor 55 minutes before schedule. Great... there's nothing I hate more than doctor visits. One my biggest phobia probably even before death is NEEDLES! I can't look at em I can't stand em! So I was hoping to get this over with as early and as painlessly as possible, so I could continue with my night...

6:30
...waiting...

6:45
...waiting...and thinking... Why the hell did they ask me to come early?

6:55
"Jessica Bianculli, Jessica!" yelled one of the nurses...

I shot up out of my seat, only to try and get over the pins and needles I was feeling in my ass, after sitting in one spot for so long, and walked over to the entrance into the doctors office.

7pm
(Inside the doctors office alone)
...waiting...

7:10
Doctor arrives!

7:15
I'm handing over my money to pay for my visit and leave.

So... lets get this straight, I rushed over to see my doctor for a regular check up ahead of schedule all because whoever called my was hoping for an early night and to get the appointments in all at once. So, I spent a total of 50 minutes sitting on my ass and a total of only 5 minutes with my doctor so that I could put money into his pocket in the end, for a total of 5 minutes.

Hmm... this got me thinking... I work part time at a restaurant and what if I were to start doing the same thing to my customers? I will call up all of the reservations and ask them to try and make it to their dinner "appointment" as early as possible, preferably between 5 and 6 pm. After all, I would like to get out of work, if not on time, as early as possible, please. And I will make you wait around... because of course I will be busy attending to other customers, because they all came in at the same time you did, and when I do come around and find the time to serve you, I will expect you to pay the restaurant and me for our services.

Its funny, being in the restaurant/service industry you are expected to be attentive, pleasant and fast. Not because you necesarily "WANT" to or "URGE" to give that kind of service to every customer, but because you know there is a monetary bonus to doing so!

When you're in the service industry, especially in New York you quickly come to learn that most people are very impatient and that waiting around or slow service is definately going to affect how much of a tip that person will leave you So, maybe I should start doing the same with my doctors. 'Listen Doc, just give me the raw charge of my check up (please don't include your paycheck in that cut yet) And I will decide if I want to leave you 20 or maybe 25 percent, depending on how pleasant you are, or maybe I will only leave you 15 percent... maybe less. How does that sound? Nothing comes for free I guess, including good service wherever you go.

Whaddya' think?