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Welcome to the New Entrepreneurial Ninja

Welcome to the new site for Entrepreneurial Ninja and Daryl Lu (one and always the same). As you can see, the site has been restructured quite a bit. In short, I migrated from Blogger to WordPress on the backend. The cost for WordPress is higher as I am now hosting the site through Siteground where prior, Blogger was self-hosted and free.

Blogger was always a “good enough” blogging site. However, it lacked flexibility. This was apparent after working with WordPress for several companies. One of the primary areas I wanted greater flexibility was in formatting pages that were not blog posts. To this, you’ll see more updates come down the line starting with my My Story page. Then, I will redesign my homepage and so on.

As my roles continue to flex and adapt (as any good Ninja does), my digital presence must also flex and adapt. WordPress will allow me this flexibility.

All of this was spurred by the recent acquisition of the company I was building, Burner Rocket. I am unsure of what my long-term plans are. Building a new company from the ground-up is enticing. However, after 6 years of doing this with multiple companies, taking a break could provide some relief. Or, I can continue taking the plunge with another early-stage company. In any path I choose, I will have my personal mission to guide me – “to change the lives for the greater through entrepreneurial endeavors.” Whatever step that is, it will be a step.

I’ll keep you in the loop of whatever that next step is. Till then, enjoy the new look and feel of Entrepreneurial Ninja.

– Daryl, Entrepreneurial Ninja

 

Side note: For those looking for a similar migration from Blogger to WordPress, there are a few things to pay attention to in particular:

  • Retain link structures to assume search engine rankings/ equity
  • Most posts, media, etc. will transfer easily between Blogger and WordPress, but formatting may be off depending on the WordPress theme used
  • Page links will likely be broken due to the page structure defaulted by Blogger. As such, redirects will be needed
  • Changing from Blogger to WordPress will require updating DNS and nameservers – typically on the domain provider. The change may take several hours to propagate
  • Here’s a great walk-through of how to migrate from Blogger to WordPress from wpbeginner
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Rules of Writing

As I thought about how to start this post, I wanted to say, “I’m not a writer”. Except, I write – a lot. It’s fair to say, then, I’m a writer. I wasn’t always a writer, and I can’t comment if I’m good or not. I can say, however, that I am always improving.
Take this forum of “The ‘Rules’ of Writing” from StackOverflow. It’s fun to read what advice others give for effective writing. Here are some of my favorites:
  • Show, don’t tell. This one hits home perhaps because of my former online dating profiles. Yes, I said it. Too often, people state they’re “nice, like to travel, funny”. It’s incredibly generic and easy for anyone to say this. Instead, a well-written profile and accompanying pictures say much more, concisely, and accurately.
  • Give yourself permission to suck. Maybe I do this all the time? J Point is that when you relinquish the need to be good, let alone perfect, you get to write. You get to post. You become a writer.
  • Write, don’t edit. I adopted this perhaps 150 posts ago – write the post completely, and let it sit. Then, revisit day(s) later and only edit then. Too often writers can get stuck thinking of ways to rewrite what was just written before getting the full idea out.
  • You have to read, and read all the time. Effective writers (and entrepreneurs) are constantly curious – always learning. They’re always reading and soaking in the world. Reading (learning) provides perspective which provides creativity.

In general, you just have to write. In many cases, constant practice is better than trying to be perfect. Constant practice leads to better writing.

Give writing a try. Give curiosity a try.
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300! Reflecting on How I Started

Yes, this is my 300thpost!
My very first post was back on May 3, 2012 – “To be an effective consultant”. Yes, back in the day, I started the blog as SC Ninja Skills (SC = Supply Chain). I remember it – I wrote the first post sitting in a hotel in L.A. I went there before starting my MBA program at Emory. I remember having this idea to start the blog a year or so before. However, I thought I needed more experience. What did I have to offer?
In that seemingly random moment in the hotel room, though, the question flipped: “why do I have to wait till I’m in my 40s to influence others? To teach? To be influential? Haven’t Fortune 500 companies been hiring my consulting firm or requesting MEas a subject matter expert? I do know a lot even in my short career so far!” This was a huge moment for me as I realized my own worth. Confidence just flowed from there.
I started my pivot in September 2012 towards startups and entrepreneurship. I was in the throws of building Body Boss, and was helping another entrepreneur launch his startup. The energy and action was exhilarating, so I took those experiences to fuel Entrepreneurial Ninja. In fact, I remember responding to a David Cummings post about part-timing a startup – “Bootstrappers, we don’t have it easy, but Magic Pens gives us hope!”
It’s amazing reflecting on the journey from the beginning.

I’ve overcome a lot, and I’ve adapted perhaps even more. (Just like a startup!) I used to hate writing and reading till I shifted the context. And perhaps that’s the most important lesson from Post 1 to 300 – I’ve consistently approached my curiosity by shifting context and doing.

Looking forward to the next 100 and beyond.
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What to blog, or what not to blog? That is the question.

I recently received a question from an entrepreneur about how to start blogging. He saw me posting last week at a conference, and shared how he’s always wanted to write. However, he wasn’t sure how. One of the questions he asked was about blogging at a “personal” level or at the “company” level. I’m interpreting this as if he should blog on the company website about company interests, or on a personal blog about personal things (company interests, too).
As always, I’d say, “it depends.” Though, he added that his goal was for his company to succeed – “whatever leads that way would be great”.
Knowing he’s new to blogging and has a direct motive to help the company, he should write on his company’s blog about his company’s interests for a couple reasons. First, it’s clear he wants to grow the company’s presence and brand first. Given he’s the CEO, his personal brand will be tied to the company at this stage anyways.
Second, starting out blogging is simple. The difficulty is being consistent. It’s important for him to start very focused with his company’s blog with a dedicated cadence and focus. A personal blog (like this one) is great to develop personal branding and attract followers to the grander purpose.  Again, being the founder and CEO, his company will be tied to his personal brand anyways.
Even if his personal brand was very strong today, he’s starting out a blog. If he was a thought leader, he would still be starting this from the ground up. In this way, I still suggest writing for the company, and share his posts with his network.
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My 5 Recommendations to Build Your Website

Being a blogger (of many blogs), it makes sense many new and want-to-be bloggers reach out to me for advice. I’ve even recently launched another blog for another passion project. I’ve also helped at least a dozen start up sites. With each iteration, I’ve found my go-to recommendations on what to use.
If you’re looking to start a website or a blog, these are my recommendations.
  • Buying a domain – GoDaddyor Namecheap.Both are very simple. Go Daddy can offer as low as $2.99 for the first year of owning the domain with a 2-year commitment. The second and following years go up to $14.99. You can find domains on Namecheap for $10.69 annual (first, second, so forth).
  • Website builder/ content management system (CMS) – WordPress. This blog (as of 03/09/17) is built with Blogger. It was real quick to get up and running several years ago when I started. However, Blogger lacks the power of flexibility and a strong theme ecosystem to customize like WordPress. The themes make your site stand out, and many can be incredibly easy to implement “WOW” elements.
  • Hosting – Siteground.This is a new recommendation. I launched 100 Strangers, 100 Days with Digital Ocean. It was easy, but also had several hiccups. Plus, it’s expensive. I checked out Siteground, and found this to be WICKED easier. A few clicks, and you’re up. Simple, fast, and a fraction of the cost of other hosting services.
  • WordPress Template – Enfold. This theme is very simple and hugely powerful. It’s drag-and-drop capabilities are superior to what I’ve found on other sites. Meanwhile, you can customize the heck out of your site with very simple UI. The team has done a great job of still playing nice with plug-ins for even greater flexibility. Also, they back up their work with great support. Just select a demo template from their packaged theme, and go from there. Simple.
  • Emailer/ marketing – Mailchimp.It’s an Atlanta-based company bootstrapped from the start. Real quick to use this to capture emails, and notify your readers of updates.

With the above, you can launch a site and have a simple landing page up in a couple hours. It could happen faster, but you’ll likely noodle over color schemes, pictures, and the like. Know that with this set-up, you can take your time or be quick.

Drop me a note if you have questions.
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6 Reflections On The Journey Behind Blog Posts 101-200

So last Thursday, I wrote my 200th post – most popular posts since hitting 100. It’s taken a little while to get here, but has sped up considerably after posting twice weekly since last year. 

We tend to reflect at the end of the year or after some big event that’s transpired. For me, that was hitting 200 posts, so I’ll take a moment to share six reflections over the past year (100 posts).
  1. Wrapped up a considerable amount of consulting projects including an iOS app project, product management, new website build, sales and biz dev process development.
  2. Wrote a book about startup and entrepreneurship focusing on lessons from failure – Postmortem of a Failed Startup: Lessons for Success (getting great reviews and feedback).
  3. The goal of consulting was to find my Next Great Move, and it successfully led me to a full-time role with an early-stage startup (SalesWise) – “No More Consulting For Me – I’ve Joined A High-Growth Startup!”
  4. Learning a lot with SalesWise including all the tools available. Bootstrapping companies in the past, many tools were priced out of range, so I built a lot manually. With a funded startup, there are many tools available that can accelerate learning and growth.
  5. Given a number of talks. I can’t wait to do more with students and beyond.
  6. I’ve struggled with high levels of anxiety, but found outlets to “right the ship”. Since, I’ve included more ways to escape and gain mindfulness.
It’s been a trip the last year. I’ve grown in many ways. I’ve met extraordinary people. I’ve made mistakes, and found successes. 

I’ve continually discovered that there’s always room for improvement – it starts with putting one foot in front of the other. Adjusting direction from lessons learned always helps, but you still have to take that step forward.

There — good improvised look at the last year. Always refreshing to step back every so often, and find clarity on what’s happened, what went well, what can be improved, and goals upcoming. Stay tuned on what’s next!
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I’ve Turned 200!

… 200 posts, that is. Since this time last year (just about), I’ve published twice weekly to hit the 200-post mark in much faster span than my first 100. I have to say that 200 posts really doesn’t seem like much, but it really is.
Each post (with the exception of maybe two) has taken a couple rounds of editing and some thought process to author. It’s a good bit of work, especially now as I’ve taken on the full-time gig at SalesWise wearing lots of different hats from sales to marketing to customer support to website build.
So reflecting on my last 100 posts, here are the most popular posts:
It’s interesting to see which posts have resonated better than others, and I’m starting to draw some conclusions. I’ll share them on my next post – #201!

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Learning from Hacking My Writing Style for 15 Posts

Wasn’t long ago when I hit my 100th blog post, and I decided to hack my writing style with 15 posts 300-words or less as well as test post frequency.
At the end of the exercise, some thoughts:
  • 300 words was arbitrary, but it was a test for effectiveness and readability (my “MVP”). During the 15 posts, I’d write full drafts (~400-500 words) before trimming. After 30 minutes, I’d get to sub-400, and painstakingly carve potentially good content to get to 300. I’ll opt for 400-word limit moving forward with judgement.
  • I thought posting twice weekly would boost readership. It does… kinda. Multiple posts are great especially with sites like Atlanta Tech Blogs which showcase the latest posts from startups and entrepreneurs; however, I get “organic” traction just fine with daily social shares.
  • Two posts weekly is tough for me. Inspiring content is the challenge. More than twice a week would be unsustainable for me at the moment. I’ll still do two-a-weeks till October.
  • Friday, Saturday, Monday aren’t great times to share at 11AM or 2PM. I’ll gather data from Google Analytics later. For now, anecdotally, the best days to post on any outlet (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) are Wednesday, Tuesday, and Thursday (in order).
  • I love how Hypepotamusshares a post multiple times a week socially. Before, I did one social blast per post, but realized I was missing opportunities with multiple shares. Now, I share a single article several times citing quotes from the article on social media outlets — each day for a week after the initial post. I get more residual Favorites, Shares, Retweets, Comments, etc.
I’m always looking for ways to improve, and this was a great exercise to improve my writing and overall communication skills.
What are some other ways I could change up my writing style? Any other recommendations on writing style or what blog/ writing styles you’ve enjoyed reading?
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I’ve Finally Written 100 Posts – Here Are My Favorites

Wow… so this is what 100 feels like! Actually, it feels about the same as 52, 89, and 75. But it sure as heck feels a lot easier than 1-10. Since about October 2013, I’ve posted once every week, typically on Wednesday. Today, it’s second nature for me to write and share – takes about two hours per post including editing.
When I first started writing, I didn’t really have a clear-cut goal other than to start my path down “thought leadership”. I knew that I had already earned a lot of experience that I could put to use today, rather than wait several years when I was “older”. Although, the blog was under the moniker “Supply Chain Ninja”. I’ve rebranded to Entrepreneurial Ninja, so the earliest posts were about supply chain and consulting.
I saw the number of posts continue to climb, and it was only till I hit 90 where I really started to reflect on what I wanted to say on my 100th post. If you ask most people around me, this isn’t really a big deal to me. I mean… 100? Really? Over a couple years? That’s really not much considering there are several bloggers who publish three times a week and real stalwarts who published DAILY.
Alas, I’m celebrating the consistency, especially given the countless times I wanted to just say, “Nah, I’m done. I have nothing left to share.” But I’ve kept it going anyways.
So for my 100th post, I’m going to give you three things: what I’ve learned, posts that have garnered the most views, and then, my own favorites.

Lessons I’ve Learned Through 100 Posts

  1. I love writing. I didn’t care much for writing in school, but post-school when I absolutely do not have to write this or in other mediums, I love it. I’ve done my own mini-research papers about relationships and technology, I’ve written about personal goals and my way of thinking on another blog, etc. It’s fun. It’s therapeutic. It’s distinctly me.
  2. People love my writing. People like my writing. People hate my writing. People don’t care about my writing. All of this is OKAY. I obviously want more passionate, lovers of my work, but I’m comfortable with those who don’t care about it, too. Sometimes my message resonates with people, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s okay.
  3. Even as a consistent writer, I still get shy. There are posts when I have no idea if what I’m writing truly adds value in the message I’m writing. However, I do it anyways because it needs to be like clockwork for me.  And then, there are times I still feel shy about writing and sharing with the world. Even though I JUST said it’s okay for people to not care for my writing, I do have twinges of timidity.
  4. I love learning. When I write and write, I can run out of ideas. Luckily, there are sources of inspiration everywhere. Blogging has been a source of great ideas for me and great learning. I’ve read much more than I used to (again, in school, didn’t care for it). I meet so many more people now than ever. I like to ask questions, and I like to learn and share with the world.
  5. I write a lot. I’m going to change up my writing style soon (I’ll have a post about that, too), but I can write (and talk) A LOT. I’ve learned I’m very opinionated, but I’m open to others’ opinions and thoughts because then I learn. But I’m happy about being opinionated, too, because in my earlier years, I was shy and lacking of self-confidence. Now, I have confidence in my abilities and who I am.
  6. It’s about the message, not necessarily the details. As I click through my earlier posts, I smile at what I’ve written, but I also start editing little punctuation or grammatical mistakes. I’m like the guy on Match.com who will not date a chick with too many typos on her profile. In blogging, I can easily spin my wheels sweating the details of grammar, details, etc., but then I would be stressed and may never push out a post. What matters THE MOST is hitting that Publish button, and sharing the message with the world. As long as the main idea and key tenets are there, readers will appreciate it. As will I.

5 Posts with the Mosts… Views, comments, and more

My Favorite Posts… the ones I enjoyed writing and sharing

I’ve had a lot of fun writing both the goods and the bads (the challenges). Looking forward to hitting the next 100 posts, and maybe (MAYBE) up my frequency, too. Thanks for reading and following along!

What posts were your favorites? Any suggestions on writing style or topics to cover? 
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