It is the dream of many to give up the daily slog and branch out on their own. Unfortunately too often that is exactly all it is - a dream without any real foundation or substance. If you are seriously thinking about starting your own business you need to give deep consideration to a lot of factors before taking the plunge. A very high percentage of start-ups fail - often in a very short space of time. And the reasons for failure are numerous and wide-ranging. If you don't give sufficient thought and planning to your new venture it is very likely that you will be among them. It is always helpful to know of other people's experiences in these sort of areas. What they did - or didn't do - can provide you with clear pointers as to how you should proceed. Many people have been down the road and many have failed. Their failures might contain the seeds of your success if you are able to understand where they went wrong and use that information to your benefit. Running your own business takes guts and stamina - among lots of other qualities. If you are thinking of taking the plunge you will need - and deserve - a lot of luck. Good hunting!
About the Author: Michaels career, not only as an artist, is a rather unusual one: born in 1969 in Vienna, he got interested in technology, especially electronics and mathematics, already when 7 years old. At the age of 12 he worked as a programmer. He quit school at 17 and started his first own business in the financial field, publishing analysis on the financial markets and managing funds, until he sold his business at the age of 23. The following 3 years he spent climbing and hiking in Africa, USA, Asia, and all over Europe. From 1995 on he was the publisher of werk-zeug, a technology and art magazine, as well as streetfashion, a magazine featuring fashionable people on the streets all over the world. He was also active in the field of software development, is the originator of many inventions, and holds international patents ranging from climbing equipment and bicycle gears to trading systems and electronic payment systems. Already in 2001, Michael decided to sell his companies to start his career in arts and works as he calls it. In the very same year though, he started a side business on eBay that eventually became the world's largest powerselling enterprise on eBay, a company with 80 employees and a turnover of 30 million euros a year. In early 2005, the company went bankrupt, and Michael lost all his money in the process. Never shying away from new challenges, he decided to write a book about the company and its end: English and German versions of "The end of EBay" are available through Amazon here. Qentis' bankruptcy also had its good sides: finally, Michael could concentrate on his art and private studies. Michael's works are the result of a rich live and a long history of ideas. The artist about his work: "there is no way to (mate)realize all the plans and projects I have on my mind in one lifetime- I can only pick the best and feasible". His work touches a broad variety of fields such as technology, politics, science, social topics, and style.