Two years ago at SXSWi I saw the founder of Dogster speak on a panel (along w/ one of the creators of Wordpress which converted me right there on the spot). If you aren’t familiar, Dogster is like Friendster… but for dogs. He was talking about the trials of running an online business post-dot-com-bust. Getting funding and staying afloat, it took a huge toll on his personal and professional life. He had to keep reminding himself it was just a job. Not even that, it was just dogs on the internet. If I’m not mistaken, he actually got that phrase from the founder of Priceline who would say “it’s just plane tickets on the internet”.

That phrase (the dog one, which is so much better), has gotten me through many tense moments with clients. When something happens and I know it’s bad, but it happened and we have to get through it. No one lost their job, nothing burned down. I remind myself … it’s just dogs on the internet.