Great article, and great quote. I would definitely recommend reading the whole book Winning by Jack Welch -- I personally just finished it. It provides great insight to management and the behind-the-scenes look of GE at an executive level.
Ego is often mixed up with self confidence, I agree that people should not themselves too seriously and to realize that in the grand scheme of things, we are all so insignificant individually.
Being a good listener is so essential in communication - We've all been on the other side of feeling disregarded in a conversation because of a distraction, text, time, wandering minds -- it's disrespectful and works in negative ways.
10-13: Ran automated java bots which played game characters and gathered currency --> sold virtual currency in bulk --> Made $3000 my first summer "working"
13-17: Established a reputation on well known forums related to virtual goods / gaming --> bought in accounts at a lower rate from retired veteran players --> sold accounts for a premium to players with time constraints but still wanted to exceed in the game --> led to the creation of www.accountsden.com (which is for sale as I've lost the passion; still a profitable, fully functional business model).
17-Current(18):
Wholesale premium vehicles -- purchase directly from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes etc.. auctions as well as leveraging the CDN dollar to import vehicles in to Canada and sell for profit. Can save a buyer $20,000 on a new BMW in Canada in difference of Canadian MSRP.
Launching a niche job classified site targeted towards high turn over jobs/entry level positions. Accommodating the 15-28 age range -- launching within a month.
The buying / selling process is fairly complex and I have training material prepared from start to finish provided in mind that the person has zero previous knowledge of the topic.
-- included in the 2 day training
For the nature of the business I'd think a longer support is crucial though as many new obstacles and situations arise that cannot be predetermined.
-- hopefully this will not come back in the long run to burn me for offering such long support.
I've moved on to other projects and haven't had time to deal with AdWords and was short staffed so I halted SEO -- on average with minimal input time it generates about $3-4k a month.
If you do a simple google search "Buy WoW Account" all sites on the right hand side - sponsored ads are earning bare min. $10,000 / month net.
No matter how good an account is -- Level 85 accounts we purchase between $60 - 250. $60 account usually sells for $199.99 and a $250 account would sell for $500-600 -- this is the general case with all websites.
With SEO having us on the first page of "Sell WoW Account" keywords at rank 4 from the top -- we were receiving roughly 50-100 "Sell Account Requests" -- at the time we were only picking the best deals.
Monitor a site like "www.vbarrack.com" -- a full company which employs more quite a few employees. There turnover is roughly 40-50 accounts a day with an inventory of a quarter million - half a million dollars in just World of Warcraft accounts alone.
Business Law is flawed for those under age of majority...
I've had numerous start ups and successful ventures since the age of 12, and to date (I'm currently 17), it's always a burden to know I'm held back from incorporating etc.. as nothing I sign is legally viable.. therefore making it hard for me to play by the rulebook.
Ive noticed as my friends list grew from 100 to over 1000 over the years.. I update my status less and less specially the more personal they are.. as my facebook friends list consist of acquaintances and friends of all backgrounds --
Facebook for me now has just become a social rolodex, a collection of people I've met over the years.
Could I post about something funny that happens at a bar on a friday night out on town? Sure! Do I think twice? Yeah, how would colleagues view it / business acquaintances (as I tend to view everyone as a "friend" no matter how long I've known them for)
Something exclusive for just my grad class or those in my immediate or near immediate (weekend friends / friends to go on trips with) would be nice in a simplified, less feature filled site service.
Go on craigslist, search for a hot turn over market such as blackberries or iphones -- most people have their contact # on the actual ad.
Shoot them an offer of 15% below lowest listed price to market median .. i.e blackberry 9700, 175 - 200 - 225 - shoot them an offer of $150-160 -- if you get it great, resell for $200/225.
Repeat with any high turnover product you're comfortable with on the pricing.. its a good foundation for real-life negotiation practices.