{"id":16880,"date":"2026-05-04T15:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dallasmaids.com\/?p=16880"},"modified":"2026-05-06T22:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:48:28","slug":"dont-tell-anyone-secret-advise-starting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dallasmaids.com\/dont-tell-anyone-secret-advise-starting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"DON\u2019T TELL ANYONE! My Secret Advise When Starting a Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This article was originally posted on February 3rd, 2015, but it mysteriously vanished, most likely sacrificed during one of our many hosting migrations. It was Reposted from an article (see footnote for link) I wrote on reddit.com in 2014. \u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t Tell Anyone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Seriously\u2026 don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first started Dallas Maids, I didn\u2019t tell anyone what I was doing. Not friends. Not family. No one. Oh, there were rumors, of course. When people don\u2019t have information, they create their own. One friend even joked, \u201cWhat are you building, some kind of naughty site?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And frankly\u2026 that right there is exactly<\/em> why I kept it quiet. Not because I had anything to hide\u2014but because I wanted to avoid negativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Silence Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People are incredibly susceptible to suggestion. Now, you might think you\u2019re strong-headed (and maybe you are), but what others say still seeps in. Quietly. Subconsciously. And over time, it shapes your decisions more than you realize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negative input is especially powerful. It doesn\u2019t just bounce off, it lingers, drives deep into your subconcious mind, it compounds, and it starts influencing your actions. So I made a decision early on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No outside opinions until I had something real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one telling me to get a \u201creal job.\u201d
No one questioning why I left a promising tech career\u2026 to clean houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019m incredibly glad I did, because starting Dallas Maids<\/a> (and my other businesses) turned out to be one of the best decisions I\u2019ve ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid Negative People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2026like the plague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, I\u2019ve had to defriend a few people in real life. Not dramatically; just quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negativity is contagious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s the uncomfortable truth: Some people, without being concious of it, don\u2019t want you to succeed more than they have. It\u2019s not usually intentional. It\u2019s not malicious in a conscious way. It\u2019s just\u2026 human nature mixed with environment, conditioning, and a bit of ego (psychologically speaking).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ll question you. Doubt you. \u201cJust be realistic.\u201d And if you\u2019re not careful, that voice becomes your voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negative People Are Everywhere (Yes, Even Reddit)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve seen it. Post something online and out comes the random negativity. Completely unwarranted, sometimes almost impressive in how unnecessary it is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick experiment: Click their profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll usually find a pattern. Some people are just\u2026 committed to being negative. It\u2019s basically a hobby. So, don\u2019t take it personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. It\u2019s them, not you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Be grateful they\u2019re not in your day-to-day life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    You could<\/em> avoid places like Reddit entirely\u2026 but there\u2019s value here too. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here: I\u2019ve been fortunate to know the freedom of having your own business and want to share my experience with you because you deserve to have this, too. We are lucky to experience this sliver of time between two great eternities, so make the most of it! Experience and do good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ending tangent. Let me get back on track\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back on Track\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So don\u2019t tell anyone when starting a business, continue de-friending negative people and befriending positive people, and learn a little about psychology. Lee Iacocca attributed his success to his psychology degree. Understanding people and motivating them are key. I\u2019d recommend his autobiography, too, good book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This advice is my own derived from what I had known of psychology. It is one of my secrets on how I started my first business and having it wildly successful. Strangely, it\u2019s advice absent from any business related book I\u2019ve read at the time, though in the May, 2009 issue of Psychological Science is an article confirming my \u201cdon\u2019t tell anyone\u201d strategy I used in 2004:\u00a0http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/ulterior-motives\/200905\/if-you-want-succeed-don-t-tell-anyone<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I hope this helps you, especially if you are just starting out. Know that you already have everything within you to do this. And each day you are becoming better and better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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