When the passion for being CIO fades

Ever since I've done this and I've spoken to people, it's like they are excited about the prospect of doing something different but they're maybe too conservative to take the step.

Steve Berg.

People ask me what did I do and how did I do it? And it's like, 'OK you're crazy! How did you survive?'

It's kind of scary to make that transition. It's almost a parallel step, rather than a step forward. A lot of people I've talked to say that's their stumbling block. They've got a good job, they've got a good salary, they're comfortable. Why go and do something that makes you uncomfortable?

That for me was the hardest part - let's do something dangerous where now I don't know where my salary's coming from. But it's not as bad as it seems when you live it and you're doing something you own and it's personally exciting you. You can get through those tough times when you don't know where the money's coming from.

I'm a stubborn guy. I know what I want and I know how I want to get it done, and I think that's what's kind of made me successful is that stubbornness. Once I've got in my mind that this is the way Im going to do something, maybe the stubbornness or self-belief gives me the confidence to execute it.

I guess you could say I'm more on the risk-seeking side than the risk-averse side. I think that's key in the entrepreneurial world. You can't play it safe all the time. Obviously if it's a horrible decision and it flops I'll abort, but I've got enough of that drive and stubbornness to push through the difficult times where things might not be running as smoothly.

Ultimately, the end goal I know is going to be much better.

The goal right now is to grow the business I'm running in the States now and then ultimately have it run more by itself.

The ultimate goal is to have a house in Australia and a house here in the States, and be able to go backwards and forwards at whim -- spend some of the summers in Australia, work out of my Australian office, and then come back here and do the same thing in the US.

For me the ultimate flexibility is to have the availability of both lifestyles. I want it all but I think that's what you've got to drive towards. Even if you never achieve the ultimate goal, if you're pushing for the stars you'll get close and I think the lifestyle will be very good.

I'm still a tech geek. I've got to have the latest technology toys. I'm good at technology, and I think thats what's helping me with these new ventures.

Through my experiences in executive teams I've worked with marketing, and I've worked with the warehousing and fulfilment sides of the business so I've learned a lot about those different sides. I've got a commerce degree so I've got a good financial understanding as well. I've always wanted to use all those pieces.

Being a small business owner, you're required to use all those pieces. I get to be the technologist, I get to be the CIO, I get to run the books, do marketing and campaigns, build up websites, pull in leads through those websites. It's been great just to pull together all these things I've been excited about all my career.

Read more about Steve's personal reinvention at his blog, Steve's Tech Perspectives.