This letter went to a young entrepreneurial friend of mine sometime back. He was struggling with a decision to try or not. There are some key points for anyone working on a change or transition. ……….
The life of a small business operator (change agent) is tough. You will make less per hour than if you worked at McDonald’s flipping burgers for the first few years. You will work for nothing but the love of work and the passion of your idea. If you cannot do that, quit and go to work for someone else. Over time, you can make millions of dollars. In the beginning you will live on beans and peanut butter and tuna fish and learn to like it. You will live in the junkiest apartments and drive old cars. You will put your money into your business and into giving to others. Later, you will have some money. Don’t count on it for the first five years. Everything should go back into the business in some form.
A small business operator (change agent) can make no excuses. There is no one to blame for any failure or lack of money but you. The economy is not to blame. The customer is not to blame. Ignorance is not to blame. Only you are to blame. Get over blaming others and circumstances. Get ready to face the mirror every morning and hold yourself accountable to your vision and your dream and your actions or lack of actions.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized. Sun Tzu. That is pure truth. Every time an opportunity is in front of you, you must answer yes or no quickly. Every one you let pass is gone. Quit whining about the fish you did not catch and go fishing for the next one. There is not time to whine about what did not work. Get over it and get moving forward.
Small business operators fail for lack of planning and lack of execution. That is about the whole of it. The longer you think about what you are going to do, the less you will succeed. Study, think, plan, and then do. Be decisive in your ways. Take knowledgeable action. It is better to fail while you are acting than to fail while you are sitting and thinking.
You will fail over and over and over. That is just the way life works. Failure is your teacher. Failure because you did not plan and did not work the plan is simply stupidity. There is no excuse for stupidity. God did not make you stupid. Sitting around and whining and blaming people and circumstances makes you stupid.
Every day you must study your profession and what affects success. Every day. You are a student forever from this point forward. Read magazines, trade journals, newsletters, and books. Read, read, and read. Blow up the television and the games and social media sites and read.
Go to school. Get as many meaningful certifications and degrees as possible in the next five years.
Sleep is a waste of time. Sleep the exact amount needed to stay healthy and alert.
So, if this is what drives you and makes your clock tick, DO IT! Quit thinking and whining. DO IT!
SOLUM SERVICES 