Entrepreneur On The Move In Search of Entrepreneurial Utopia By Jack Krupansky Everybody seems to be yearning to live in small towns where they can be surrounded by friendly neighbors and revel in quality of life. Away from the rat race, away from crime, away from bad karma. Technology can make it happen. The construction of the information super-highway should clinch the deal. So why am I moving to New York City? Good question. Maybe it's the part of me that hates to mindlessly follow trends. Maybe it's because I'm a problem solver and NY seems to be nothing but problems. The real answer is more complicated. I haven't moved yet and I haven't worked out the logistics, but Bill thinks it would make a better story to start with my expectations and later follow up with the "real" story of how it all turns out. I hesitate to tell people about my move. It seems like a step backwards. The range of responses is quite entertaining, ranging from "Are you crazy?" and a worried "Why?" to "Cool!" and "I'm jealous". If I moved anywhere else in the country I would get moderate responses and polite queries as to my reasons. But moving to NY requires some real explaining. The simple reason for my move is that my current work situation allows me to live where I want and I've wanted to live in NY for some time. Boulder, Colorado is a nice place, but after twelve years, it just doesn't inspire me anymore. I don't plan to live in NY for the rest of my life, but it seems like it would be a good experience. I grew up in New Jersey and was always in awe of NY. I've been visiting NY twice a year for some time now and haven't gotten tired of it. I don't know of any city as exciting as NY. Paris, Hong Kong, London, and Tokyo have a lot to offer, but NY is something else. If you can get past all the grunginess and density, there is never a dull moment. I do like restaurants and no place can compete with the sheer variety in NY. I'll be able to haggle face-to-face with the sales guys at J&R Computer. There're always filming movies (the latest Batman and Die Hard during my last trip.) Travel to Europe is faster and cheaper from NY. NY is also midway between Boston and Washington which are two of my other favorite destinations and the thought of easily traveling between those three cities without the hassle of airlines has some appeal. Now that I've told you WHY I'm moving to NY, here is my rationalization for why it really is a good idea (for me)... There is a lot of business potential in NY. In no other place is there anything close to the concentration of big businesses that spend giga-bucks on technology. Even before moving I've arranged to do some Windows NT consulting for a Wall Street firm at a fairly decent hourly rate. My new software product will appeal to large companies developing custom software applications and the density in NY will allow me to mail and phone prospects at very low cost. I can even make "house calls" to give demos, look at problems, and see how my product is being used. The large number of software consulting firms in NY might also provide significant business opportunities. There are also a lot of trade shows in NY (and Boston and Washington.) I could work at home, but I do like working in a separate office. I expect to share an office in midtown Manhattan with a sales guy from my current consulting client (he'll supposedly spend most of his time out visiting customers.) I don't really want to go with a shared-service business center which is expensive (but plush) and forces you to use their phone system and mark up the cost of long distance phone calls, but the only other alternative for a comfortable small office is to sublet in someone else's office. It looks like I can get a top-notch answering service for under $80 with nominal rates for features such as FAX-back. Business centers offer intangible benefits such as business networking, which can lead to valuable business contacts. Working alone at home can drive you crazy. Being surrounded by other business people can focus your attention on the here and now of business. One business center had quite a few high- tech clients who use the center for satellite sales offices. Apartments are expensive, but I think that's just a little test to see if you REALLY want to live in NY. I expect that I'll be able to get a really nice studio apartment for $850 to $1200. Given the heat and humidity of summer in NY (and the noise and general chaos all the time), I think that a few hundred dollars a month more for a comfortable, cool, and quiet apartment will be worth it and necessary to maintain (or achieve) my sanity. Restaurants are expensive, but the good stuff like bagels, corn muffins, and pizza are actually cheaper than in Boulder! My better consulting rate in NY should cover the increase in living expenses. I expect to have my FAX and voice phone lines forward to my new numbers for awhile. The nice thing about my 800 number is that it can easily be redirected to my new number at no charge. I'm thinking about establishing contacts with the NY venture capital community to see if I can do some consulting for them (e.g., due diligence, working with software companies.) I think my Midnight Engineering VC article might come in handy. I'm thinking about expanding the article and turning it into a pamphlet. I may not be able to make money off it, but it could lead to something bigger. I plan on doing more writing of technical and business articles. My experience with multimedia may also spawn some opportunities in NY. I'd like to see what NY college students are being taught about multimedia (or what I can teach them.) The bottom line is that NY is quite inspiring and that's what I need. Sure, I'm self-motivated, but immersing myself in a sea of problems will focus me on dreaming up solutions to real problems. Business in NY is not exactly a cakewalk, but if I can't survive there then what kind of two-bit entrepreneur am I? Maybe I'll come to my senses and not move. Or move and then move again. Or give up on my business. Or become an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. We'll see. In a few months I'll have some sort of story to tell or some real explaining to do. ------------------------------- Jack Krupansky runs a one person software business, Base Technology, which develops and markets the Liana object-oriented programming language and offers Windows software development consulting. He may be reached at 800-786-9505, e-mail at jack@basetechnology.com, or on the web at http://www.basetechnology.com.