Monday, March 07, 2005

The example of Veronica Mars

The TV show Veronica Mars features a 17-year-old entrepreneur, played by Kristen Bell (pictured). Here's the description:
In the wealthy, seaside community of Neptune, the rich and powerful make the rules, they own the town and the high school, and desperately try to keep their dirty little secrets just that…secret. Unfortunately for them, there's Veronica Mars, a smart, fearless 17-year-old apprentice private investigator dedicated to solving the town's toughest mysteries.

At night, Veronica helps with her father's struggling, new private investigator business, sneaking through back alleys and scoping out no-tell motels with a telescopic-lens camera and her math book in an attempt to uncover the California beach town's darkest secrets.
I've followed quite a bit of this show. Here's what the young entrepreneur can pick up from Veronica Mars:
  • Even when you don't have a lot of money, there are some items you have to have for your business, and you can't cut corners on them. Like Veronica's camera.
  • Maybe Shakespeare can tell us "neither a lender nor a borrower be," and most of us will buy into it, but you should still accumulate people who owe you favors. Do other people favors whenever possible, so you can call in those marks later. Ted Porada calls it "making them beholden." Veronica does that all the time.
  • Don't ever assume the first answer is the last answer.
  • Keep a journal, and know how to find stuff in it.
  • Be transparent with your partners and customers. It's not so much Veronica keeping secrets as it is everyone else! In her case, her dad (played by Enrico Colantoni) is her partner, and though the two of them initially hid information from each other, they're feeling much better now. :-)
  • Don't let your feelings -- or instincts -- cause you to miss the truth when it's in front of you.
  • Once you have a goal, don't derail it for love or money.

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posted by Ron @ 1:00 PM

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