My name is Katherine, and I will be posting on Barry’s blog as a guest author while he is out of the country (and away from all communication devices).

I began working for Barry part-time a little over two years ago. I met him through my mother, whose business utilized Barry’s capabilities as a business consultant. He had mentioned that he needed someone to help him with organization, and I was recommended as one of the most organized people my mother knew.

Barry gave me a small assignment–to find contact names and email addresses for some organizations. He told me not to spend more than two hours on it.

"Sounds great," I smiled. Oh my God, I’m never going to be able to finish it and I’m going to be broke all summer, I thought.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but luckily my Google search skills were sharp from years of using search engines for school projects, and I was able to complete the assignment. I assured Barry I could do more of the same–there was no way that I was going to let this job go: I got to work out of my home, I could sleep until 10, and I could work in my pajamas. What more could a college student want?

Well, if said college student is a chemistry major working for a man who specializes in entrepreneurship, a little background in marketing or small business would be nice. I was soon to find out that while knowledge isn’t necessary to be successful–although I wouldn’t recommend attempting to do any sort of chemistry experiment without some paper research–it definitely helps to give a sense of confidence. This is probably one of the most important lessons I’ve learned while working with Barry–along with the fact that there is no substitute for experience.