I’m on day 6 of a 108-day yoga challenge when the yoga instructor reminds me, “everything is hard – at first”.Sounds eerily like entrepreneurship, doesn’t it. I can’t help but think of the newpreneurs with whom I strategize. This is what it feels like when you take your first steps into business ownership. Even thinking back to 1997,when I launched Synnovatia, makes my heart flutter with a mixture of excitement, optimism, fear, and worry.
For most of us, business ownership is new territory, complete with its own lingo. (Click to Tweet) There’s so much to learn – not only when you launch – but also every day when you turn on the lights and fire up your computer.
I will admit. It does get easier when you learn the language and the lay of the land. However, whether you’re new to entrepreneurship or have been “around the block a few times”, we all need to know – we are not alone in our angst and exhilaration.
The Willing ‘Preneur
Given my 18 years of coaching CEO’s, Presidents, and Founders of companies through frustration with their pace of progress, keeping up with cash flow, stress, getting it all done, feeling stuck and lonely working by themselves to getting back on track, developing their focus, setting and achieving goals, and maximizing their potential, here’s what I would like to share with the new ‘preneur
1. Be willing to go the distance. Success doesn’t happen overnight for most. You’re not Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs – although you might be. The truth is, even for most enterprising individuals, business is an endurance sport. (Click to Tweet)
2. Be willing to invest. Playing close to the chest (i.e. cautiously) is limiting. I’m not saying that one should throw money around like it grows on trees, to borrow a phrase from my parents. I am saying that you want some sort of financial reserve to carry you through from start-up until you’ve achieved your second generation of clients.
Its not just cash you want to be willing to invest, it’s also your investment of time into learning the domain knowledge of entrepreneurship.
3. Be willing to involve others. Entrepreneurs are a proud bunch. It’s hard to ask for help. Failing to reach out to others for support only slows progress. Whether it’s a mentor, coach, mastermind group or the myriad of resources accessible, avail yourself of the expertise and wisdom of others.
4. Be willing to brave failure. “Failure” is an interesting expression. People fear it, dodge it, and wrestle with the concept of it. Unfortunately, “failure” is a garbage-can term errantly used to describe a myriad of business situations.
Seldom do we truly fail. We do, however, find ways that don’t work at which time we have a choice. We choose to label the event as “failure” or we learn from the experiment that is business, adapt, evolve, and move on.
5. Be willing to ride the roller coaster. Every business experiences ebbs and flows. Develop the same innocence owned by a child when learning to walk. Enthusiastically embrace the receding tide, as much as the rising tide.
Rest assured, entrepreneurship, like yoga, becomes easier with time, practice, learning, corrections, and a heavy dose of courage.
What advice would you share with the new ‘preneur?
