Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur

Even if you want to be big someday, remember that you never need to act like a big boring company. Over ten years, it seemed like every time someone raved about how much he loved CD Baby, it was because of one of these little fun human touches.

it always led to the customer and

no matter what business you’re in, it’s good to prepare for what would happen if business doubled.

There’s a benefit to being naive about the norms of the world—deciding from scratch what seems like the right thing to do, instead of just doing what others do.

Also at the end of each order, there was a box that would ask, “Any special requests?”

musician getting in touch directly. This is something that big stores like Amazon would never do.

But I never again promised a customer that I could do something that was beyond my full control.

Never forget that you can make your role anything you want it to be. Anything you hate to do, someone else loves. So find that person and let her do it.

In the end, it’s about what you want to be, not what you want to have. To have something (a finished recording, a business, or millions of dollars) is the means, not the end. To be something (a good singer, a skilled entrepreneur, or just plain happy) is the real point.