One of my favorite topics is the human journey, and entrepreneurs are known for some interesting roads to success. I cannot tell you how many times I ask an entrepreneur how he/she got started and hear some crazy story about their journey.
I’ve heard…
I am an artist and was in search of the perfect journal, with the right paper, style, and binding but couldn’t find it so I created my own, and today we do $11MM in sales.
And… a new mom on maternity leave from a high-stress corporate job when the child of one of her neighbors asked for math help… not sure she wanted to go back to the “grind” she started a small tutoring practice that today employs over 100 tutors and serves thousands of students…
And one of the most well-known stories. Mark Zuckerberg trying to improve his social life at Harvard accidentally creates Facebook…the rest is history.
We can consider these accidents, but in fact, they were opportunities leveraged by individuals with entrepreneurship in their DNA, they just didn’t know it yet.
You see, entrepreneurs are the ones that see mismatches, things that need fixing, and opportunities where no one else does… they are compelled to create solutions to those problems. Some customers show up, then maybe some more. People are talking. Life is Good ( another accidental business!).
The problem is, the creation is the easy part. Build a better mousetrap they say, and customers will flock to you.
But not for long if you can’t deliver,
not for long if you run out of cash…
or can’t retain employees,
or just simply don’t know what the F*%$ you are doing!
Great ideas will only take you so far. It’s knowing what to do, and how to do it, that creates a sustainable growth company. It’s the boring stuff that makes ideas into companies into iconic successes. For every Life is Good success there are 999 other t-shirt makers that failed right at the moment they were destined for success.
Be the one IN a thousand not one of the 999.
Take the time to learn, get the education, and invest in resources. Seek out experts, and a community of peers and ask for help.
You owe it to your idea.
You owe it to your family and friends. (especially the ones that invested!)
And most importantly you owe it to yourself
Cheers,
John
Founder of the align5 Companies, CEO of Scaling Up Coaches, and Serial Entrepreneur
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