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As entrepreneurs we want to dedicate as much time as possible to our business. That means that we end up working late nights, pulling all-nighters and working on weekends.

The night shift is special. There are no meetings, no calls, no distractions. Basically, no interruptions. Just you and your endless TODO list.

The night shift is a good resource for a short period of time. And only for a short period of time.

If you keep doing it for an extended period of time, it will burn you out.

You need the night to rest, to recover from a intense day, so that you can go back to work the next day with the same intensity.

What’s most important, you need limitations. If you only have 8 hours per day, you will be forced to prioritize the items in your TODO list. Limitations drive creativity.

Back in March 2005 I applied to a Java Developer position in a company that was looking for a developer with “entrepreneurial spirit.”

I was intrigued by that requirement.

I interviewed, passed the technical test, and started working for my first startup in April 2005. That’s when I caught the entrepreneurial bug.

It wasn’t until March 2008 that I started working full-time for the first company I co-founded.

Ever since I started that first company I haven’t stopped building businesses. One thing I learned in this first experience is that just because you know how to build software it doesn’t mean that you know how to run a software business.

In March 2011 I started my second and current company. With time I have learned many things about running a business, but I still feel like I have so much more to learn and improve.

I have been running businesses for more than 8 years. Today I like to look back and appreciate all the things that I’ve built. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.

After all these years, I’ve learned that the most important thing about running a business is forming a team that you can count on. Being able to delegate is both challenging and rewarding. I’m glad to say I’m getting better at this.

If you have this entrepreneurial spirit (or entrepreneurial bug) you know that you will always have it. You will always have the initiative to make things better.

Ever since I started building my own company I have never been able to maintain my inbox at zero unread messages for more than a week.