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"Gateway" Bloggers/Pundits

Solais

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Before you encountered MJ's books, who did you read?

For me, it was a blogger named Steve Pavlina.

Let's just say he's a good "gateway" type.

He was the one who "planted the seeds of doubt," so to speak, and MJ's books took them to the next level by sheer force.

Never Get a Job

Jobs vs Passive Income (this one is hilarious, it's a MUST read)

Don't Pay Your Bills

What I Learned from Going Bankrupt in my 20's

Now he does promote some weird shit like "polyphasic sleep" or whatever (I won't defend those claims), but I have no doubt he made a great contribution to my path today.
 
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stmorand

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Before you encountered MJ's books, who did you read?

For me, it was a blogger named Steve Pavlina.

Let's just say he's a good "gateway" type.

He was the one who "planted the seeds of doubt," so to speak, and MJ's books took them to the next level by sheer force.

Never Get a Job

Jobs vs Passive Income (this one is hilarious, it's a MUST read)

Don't Pay Your Bills

What I Learned from Going Bankrupt in my 20's

Now he does promote some weird sh*t like "polyphasic sleep" or whatever (I won't defend those claims), but I have no doubt he made a great contribution to my path today.

I started my entrepreneurial journey by reading very practical books like by "The Startup Owner's Manual" by Steve Blank and "Business Model Generation" by Alexander Osterwalder.

Thank you for sharing Steve Pavlina's blog posts, I specially liked the "Don't Pay Your Bills"
 

Solais

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Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
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Sep 14, 2018
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I started my entrepreneurial journey by reading very practical books like by "The Startup Owner's Manual" by Steve Blank and "Business Model Generation" by Alexander Osterwalder.

Thank you for sharing Steve Pavlina's blog posts, I specially liked the "Don't Pay Your Bills"

Random question, but considering you live in France, won't it be hard to build your own business?

I understand Macron is slowly liberalizing parts of the economy, but I'm sure it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination (compared to if you lived in a country like Canada, New Zealand, USA, etc.)
 

stmorand

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Random question, but considering you live in France, won't it be hard to build your own business?

I understand Macron is slowly liberalizing parts of the economy, but I'm sure it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination (compared to if you lived in a country like Canada, New Zealand, USA, etc.)

This is a big question, thank you for asking!

The communication of President Macron and his team is definitely about creating a so-called "Startup Nation". However, France remains a country in which business doesn't work the same as many others, including our neighbours Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, etc.

Five years ago, I talked with a US investor living in Germany, who was interested by a project of mine. When he learnt I was in France, he told me that it would be much easier for me to develop it by getting help from the French Government. In a way, he was true and I believe that it is even more the truth nowadays.

When most countries require an entrepreneur to find private investors, the same entrepreneur will have to find public money and help by France or European Union. The downside is that you have to give a lot to the government, even before earning your first Euro (social security, retirement fund, ...). France has a gap to fill with the countries you quoted (and others) in terms of entrepreneurship even though lot of new rules are here to attract more companies.

Actually, France is good to "create" talented people but not good to retain them. It is very common that engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors move out of France. It is a real problem France is facing. Without putting myself as a talent, I tried to build business both in Estonia and Vietnam. But I faced the same problem so far: I am not Estonian or Vietnamese. This tend to close doors I didn't manage to open (100% my fault).

Then, let's be positive about France: a few years ago (way before Macron was President), France set up a status of "Auto-entrepreneur" which is interesting for a start. The idea is that one can register a business without being too much annoyed by administrative tasks. The drawback is that an auto-entrepreneur pays everything on his/her own name and can not get any VAT back, for example. It is a very simplified & hybrid status, for people who wants to start but doesn't feel confident enough. Of course, once you start earning a good income, you have to switch to a regular company.

Regarding my own situation, I am today in France and I would love to see my country evolving into a place where entrepreneurs are not seen as red lights for banks. Of course, if my business ends up getting stuck, I would gladly try another, more open-minded place.
 
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