What is it about business that makes us laugh - when things go wrong, which they do all the time (why, I still wish I knew) then we need to laugh. Ronnie Apteker More Quotes by Ronnie Apteker More Quotes From Ronnie Apteker As all entrepreneurs will say, "surround yourself with good people". That is the hardest thing : finding good people. Ronnie Apteker surround-yourself entrepreneur people An entrepreneur needs to have values. Values that are wholesome. Ronnie Apteker values entrepreneur needs Creating art (music, books, films, etc.) can be beautiful and liberating, but trying to sell art, well, that is the movie business. There are few winners, and lots and lots of losers. Ronnie Apteker beautiful book art There are differences in the businesses themselves, but the fundamentals are the same: give customers a good experience, charge them a reasonable price, listen to them, and treat them with respect. Ronnie Apteker differences fundamentals giving Entrepreneurs need to listen. They don't need to be good listeners (although it can only help) but they need to know when to listen. Ronnie Apteker entrepreneur helping needs Don't take yourself too seriously - learn to laugh. Hire slowly and fire fast. And the most important thing is: you never invest in ideas, only in people! Ronnie Apteker important laughing people Business, like life, is funny. We all go through difficult times, and we all have to face curve balls and challenges, each and every week. And we need to laugh when things are funny. If we take it all too seriously we will go mad. Ronnie Apteker mad challenges laughing Business is full of pain and hardship and with that, laughter and release. Ronnie Apteker hardship laughter pain I think most entrepreneurs would refer to themselves as "accidental". No one looks for stress and pain. You stumble on to it. Also, no one looks for pots of gold, it just happens. Ronnie Apteker stress pain thinking You follow a passion, a dream, a belief, a vision, and before you know it, you are an entrepreneur. Once though, when you start to understand what this means, and what the possibilities are, the accidents then stop, and you become a forever obsessed entrepreneur that doesn't rest, and never stops trying to push the envelope. Ronnie Apteker passion dream mean The movie industry is brutal. It is dangerous. It is, for most, soul destroying. Creating art (music, books, films, etc.) can be beautiful and liberating, but trying to sell art, well, that is the movie business. There are few winners, and lots and lots of losers. Ronnie Apteker beautiful book art Obsession makes my life bad and my work good. Ronnie Apteker obsession The most obvious answer, that you can read in any leadership book is this - learn to say "no" so that you can make time for the important stuff, the stuff that is closest to your heart. And of course, as all entrepreneurs will say, "surround yourself with good people". That is the hardest thing : finding good people. Ronnie Apteker heart book people Entrepreneurs need to be positive. Always. Entrepreneurs need to be brave, often. And lastly, entrepreneurs need to be obsessed. Ronnie Apteker being-positive entrepreneur brave You can't put passion and obsession into someone's employment contract - either you are or you aren't. Ronnie Apteker employment passion obsession Don't take yourself too seriously - learn to laugh. Ronnie Apteker laughing Hire slowly and fire fast. Ronnie Apteker fire Never invest in ideas, only in people! Ronnie Apteker people ideas The movie industry is brutal. It is dangerous. It is, for most, soul destroying. Ronnie Apteker destroying dangerous soul I am tough minded, but not hard hearted. Ronnie Apteker hearted hard tough