Starting a business is a lot of work. The days are long and the sacrifices are numerous. But it’s what I love! I’ve started, and sold, many businesses over the years. That’s what most of my career has been about. Once the entrepreneurial spirit gets in your blood, it’s hard to do anything else.
Do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, you do.
Do you have the vision?
One of the defining traits of an entrepreneur is the ability to spot an opportunity and imagine something that others haven’t. Today’s business environment is so competitive and volatile that you can’t afford to be satisfied with “business as usual.” Entrepreneurs will take that vision and run with it, regardless of what others might say or what obstacles they face.
Are you following your passion?
People tend to think that entrepreneurs are driven by money. That’s not necessarily true.
More than money, the most successful entrepreneurs are fueled by a passion for their idea. However, passion alone isn’t enough to ensure your success.
Your passion will get you started but your conditions of satisfaction will help you get business done. For me, my conditions of satisfaction shape my business decisions every day. If an opportunity comes to me that doesn’t meet all three – grow professionally, have fun, and make money – I will turn that opportunity down.
Recently, I spoke with LeVar Burton and Mike Wolfe of RR Kidz. They are working to recreate the Reading Rainbow series for younger generations and shared their two conditions of satisfaction with me: make each other laugh every day, and refuse to work with amateurs or a-holes.
With over 60 years of combined experience, Mark and LeVar have earned a right to be selective about with whom they work. As a new entrepreneur, you aren’t there yet; but it’s important to define what you consider a success. Without goals and a plan to reach those goals, you just have an idea.
Are you a risk-taker?
Risk-taking is almost synonymous with entrepreneurship. And when you take risks, sometimes you make mistakes. That’s okay. Unless you’re a surgeon, mistakes are rarely fatal.
Take a risk and reap the rewards.
A few years ago, Domino’s announced that their pizza sucked. Why would a company’s leadership team agree to that marketing campaign? Why would it want to take an iconic product and tell consumers it’s not good? Talk about a risk!
During my visit, CEO Patrick Doyle explained why the team made the decision to shift the brand’s focus. Simple, he said. People’s palates had changed and consumers were no longer willing to sacrifice taste for convenience.
Domino’s took a risk. They re-made, re-baked, and re-branded to keep up with the shifting demands and it paid off.
Can you handle failure?
In any new venture, things aren’t always going to go as planned. That’s life. When something doesn’t go your way, you have to start all over again.
Earlier, I talked about the importance of passion. Sometimes too much passion for something can blind you to the faults in your business model. When I was starting out, I thought pheasant farming was the best idea ever. After all, I love everything about pheasants. I love to watch them; to see them run and fly free. I love to hunt them and I love to eat them! My passion fueled my desire and my business plan. I reached out to a bunch of friends and associates and sold them on the idea. Many of us invested all we had.
Our plan: to set up giant outdoor pens on the prairies where the pheasants could fly and run free as if in the wild. It would be a thing of beauty. Then, it happened. One prairie thunderstorm and hundreds of pheasants grouped together, looked toward the sky, and drowned. We lost everything.
What happens when you hit rock bottom? When you’re done crying, there’s nothing left to do but look at the wreckage and honestly confront what you’ve done. The key is tenacity – if you don’t have that, entrepreneurship might not be the right path for you.
Failure is usually just a delay, a way to make you stronger. It’s not a destination or an end game.
Can you let go?
Entrepreneurs usually start as a one-man band. But there comes a point when you have to hand the reins over to other people. Not everyone is wired to do every job. Sometimes you need help. Typically you go from a one-man band to adding devout followers, then adding skilled professionals. The best entrepreneurs recognize these steps and welcome them. Seriously – it’s more fun with others!
Do you have the energy?
There are going to be naysayers and obstructionists who get in your way. But I’ve always been able to beat them. How?
They just can’t keep up with me. They’re going to get tired before I do. There are only 24 hours in a day. The more of that time I can spend building my business, the better.
