failures

What’s it REALLY like to be an Entrepreneur?

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Funny story. For several years I was a teacher for the YEA! Young Entrepreneur Academy.  It was an amazing experience – I helped middle school and high school students launch legitimate businesses.  After 9 months, they created a legitimate DBA in the State of CT, asked for money from investors and launched.

On the first day of the class I always asked the students what they thought an entrepreneur was – I wanted to see their vision.  Here are some very real answers:

  • I get to have an office with a chair that spins around
  • I get to be a millionaire
  • I get to have a ton of money
  • I get to do whatever I want
  • I get to take vacations whenever I want
  • I get to be the boss

These were children, but I can tell you that many adults see entrepreneur life through rose colored glasses as well.

Being an entrepreneur IS amazing.  To be honest – I’m not employable – really.  I like being the boss, I like taking vacations when I want – but I also am down for working 80 hours in a week if that’s what needs to happen.

The fantasy driven view of what owning a business is all about is probably one of the biggest reasons many fail – they aren’t prepared for the tough spots.  I absolutely love launching businesses – it’s FUN.  Creating the business plan, designing logos, creating the marketing message, gearing up for the launch – all that is super cool and fuels my soul and creative side.  The rubber hits the road the day after the launch – because that’s when it gets real. You have to run the business, live the business and for most, you ARE the business.

When I was working with the kids and started fleshing out their business ideas – we honed in on what they loved to do and what they were really great at.  When you can combine the combo it works.  Many had hobbies such as sewing, baking, and animal welfare that they felt would make great business ideas.  When I asked them:  Would you like to bake dog treats (or whatever their hobby was) 40 hours a week and spend another 20 working on sales, marketing, and administrative “stuff” – they stared at me in disbelief.  They ASSUMED they would hire other people to do the manual work and they would be sitting in that chair twirling around.

To the children’s credit, they quickly realized that just because you have a hobby doesn’t mean you would want to flip that into a full-time business. Why?  The absolute joy of that hobby could be gone after the first 60 hour work week AND just because it’s a hobby you enjoy doesn’t mean others will pay you for that product or service.

The last point I want to touch on is the money.  You need it and often times lots of it.  I’ve seen many entrepreneurs drain their savings, tap into family and friends, and launch without a solid game plan, solid market research and a long-term vision. The money is gone and the family and friends are far from happy.  Yes, you need to be a risk taker when it comes to money – been there, done that.  You also need to realize there will be many weeks you as the owner will not get a paycheck so you can pay staff and invest back into the company.  Be prepared to be poor.  Some businesses take off immediately and sure, they make millionaires within year one. That is rare – very rare.

To wrap up, entrepreneur life is grand.  It’s hard, it’s easy, it’s frustrating, and it’s rewarding all at the same time.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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You are more successful than you think

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In a world where information is constantly being thrust into your face, it’s hard not to feel like you aren’t as good or successful as your friends, family, co-workers, or even celebrities. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to achieve, someone out there is already doing it, and it looks like they are doing it better. Want to lose 10 lbs.? Your friend Jane who just lost 20 lbs. is posting her wins on Instagram, cute gym clothes included. Want to start your own business? Your former coworker Bob just shared his new consulting website on LinkedIn. Don’t even get me started on the success of celebrities. You are a failure, everyone is doing things that you are trying to do and doing them before you and better than you!

If you compare yourself to certain people it\’s easy to feel like you\’re unsuccessful, moving too slow, a failure. That\’s the problem with comparisons. No matter how successful you may be, there will always be someone who is more successful. There will always be someone better, or smarter, or wealthier, or who appears happier. But don’t get discouraged, you are more successful than you think!

  • You have a few close friends. Even with the popularity of social media and the hundreds or thousands of connections you make online, if you have more than two or three close friends, be glad, because the positive effect of relationships on your life span is double what you get from exercising. Who knew! Having a few close people in your life to be social with, talk about your goals, and who know the real you are more than most people have. Not only does this get harder to manage with age, but the more successful you get, the harder it is to weed out the real from the fake.
  • You look at mistakes and failures as a learning tool. Yup, there is something to be learned every time something doesn’t turn out as expected, and if you realize that and grow from it, that’s success! There will always be trials, challenges, and obstacles–but perseverance always wins in the end.
  • You have a purpose. This doesn’t mean you have to find the cure for cancer (although that would be amazing) but you’ve found something that inspires you. It feeds your soul, motivates you, fuels your passion, and you are excited to get up every day and work on it. That’s real success – doing something you love, regardless of how much money you make or what other people think. You\’re living life your way–and that\’s the best sign of success there is.
  • You give – not take. There are so many people out there with the “what’s in it for me attitude.” But real success is finding a way to help those around you. It can be offering your opinion or suggestion on a problem area for a business connection or even helping an employee or coworker with completing a project. You don’t seek the spotlight and enjoy when others around you succeed.

There are many ways to be successful – it’s not just about how fast you accomplish something or how much money you make. There’s a lot to be said for just being happy with your life, having a purpose, and having good people to share it with. In a world with so many smoke and mirrors, and Instagram filters, you never really know the truth behind other people’s “successes.” Trying to compare your life to others will leave you miserable and feeling like a failure.

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Biz Launch: It’s not Field of Dreams

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Starting a business is a lot easier than it used to be 20 years ago.  With the invention of technology, the internet, and the acceptance of virtual companies, you can start a company in a couple of hours including tossing up a website.

So, what’s the inside skinny on the success story?  Why do some win and others fail?

For starters, it’s not “Field of Dreams” as in if you build it they will come. Even if you have the most amazing UNIQUE never been done before product or service, you need to let people know you are in business.  Many people think if they have a website, a Twitter account with a couple posts, and a Facebook page the phone should be ringing off the hook and orders/jobs rushing in.  That’s not how it works.  It takes sales, networking, sharing.  It takes TIME – typically 3-5 years before you work out all the kinks, show a real profit, and settle in.

Toss in the towel too Early. Back to the above, you’ve got to give your business time to grow, you have to nurture it, change it, be passionate about it and devote many many hours to its soul.

Knowing it won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it.  Many entrepreneurs aren’t prepared for the FAIL.  Suck it up Buttercup because you will have more than one OMG, WHY! moments in your business.  From staffing issues to product delivery issues, to cash flow issues (this is a biggie) to simple brain burnout issues.  Prepare yourself for them, but don’t dwell on them.

Look forward not back.  Speaking of dwelling, you can’t can’t can’t overthink all of your mistakes and failures – they are simply learning opportunities.  It isn’t easy.  Not my first rodeo and I still have to remind myself of this.  When I or my team make a mistake it keeps me up at night.  When cash flow is tight I get anxiety. I need to remind myself that this is simply a bump in the road, I address the issue – come up with a solution and look forward.

Know that innovation is King.  You will change your business multiple times, what you start with is not what you will end with.  That includes products, services – hell even your brand and your name.  Be flexible and know that change is good.

Manifest your Destiny.  This too is about looking forward.  I always coach my clients on mindfulness and focusing on WHAT YOU WANT versus what you do not have.  Sounds new agey, but it’s true. When you dwell on what you don’t have it consumes you and freezes you. When you focus on what you want and can picture yourself as a success – it happens because you easily can overlook the bumps in the road.  Read “Think and Grow Rich” #gamechanger

Be Grateful.  Don’t focus on the money.  Trust me, this is so incredibly important.  People who focus on the almighty dollar sometimes make choices they shouldn’t.  Plus if you focus on all the above, the money will come.  Sure – determine what you want to make, have some goals but don’t let being a millionaire blind you.  Be grateful for what you have, your clients, your family, your possessions, your senses, your ability to be an entrepreneur. So many others don’t have nearly what you have.  Focus on that – think deeply on that.

When I see entrepreneurs struggling, I go over this list and try to identify where the roadblock is.  Once identified, I can coach them through it.  Looking in the mirror is the first stage of acceptance that something needs to change – it isn’t easy but the results are AMAZING!

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