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The odds are stacked against you. It’s true. I’m often amazed at how many people decide to try to build small businesses online, despite the odds. Maybe it’s naivete. Maybe it’s egotism. Maybe it’s bravery. Probably it’s a combination of all three. I think you need all three to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Last year we ran a pilot to test local meetups for the Fizzle community. We learned a few things in the process: Community is everything for an entrepreneur. In fact, a local support system of fellow entrepreneurs can be the difference between persevering and quitting. And we're not a fan of quitting around here.

Entrepreneurship is all the rage. It’s everywhere. In TV and movies (Shark Tank, Silcon Valley, The Social Network), in books (The Four Hour Workweek, The $100 Startup, Lean Startup), in podcasts (StartUp, The Smart Passive Income podcast), and of course in blogs (Techcrunch and countless others). Entrepreneurship has gone mainstream. There are at least 400 startup incubators and accelerator programs in existence.

It’s 6 a.m. on launch day and, after staying up all night, I’m still working furiously to finish my online course so I don’t disappoint the 132 people who pre-purchased. “Why do I keep doing this?,” I thought. I would like to think I’ve matured in 15 years, but I’ve been repeating the same all-nighter-before-a-deadline pattern since college.

The FizzleCo team is once again growing! We're entering into an exciting stage of growth at Fizzle, and this is a great opportunity for the right person to join a very special little company. Update (4/8/15): this position has been filled. We'll be announcing our new team member very soon. Thank you to everyone who showed interest or applied.

Four years ago I wrote a post called Write Epic Shit. I stand behind the sentiment today. Nothing will help you build an audience faster than publishing truly epic content.