You're an Entrepreneur! Now What?

(Observation: Every pro/con has a flip side.)

Freedom: ‘You get to be your own boss’. How many times have you heard that one, and in a real sense, it’s true. And yet, every client is your boss; they tell you what they want, when they need you to work, and how much they will pay. The client is always your boss. The day you forget is the day your business becomes an expensive hobby.

My first paid faux painting job was in 1984. I formed a new company, and on my first main job, I did 8 rooms in a townhouse for $700.00 total. Today, the client would pay $17,000 for that same job. Right out of the shute, I was paying my client for the opportunity to gain the experience and to perfect my craft. If I had charged $17,000 to that first client, without the knowledge, experience and seasoned craft, someone else would have landed the contract.

Your Time and Energy is Fueling YOUR Vision

This is the ‘spark’ that lights the fire of every successful business owner I’ve met. How many employees have left their 90-hour/week job to make less money, and pursue their own personal vision?

Likewise, how often have I met ‘dreamers’ who are not in touch with current reality’? Wherever you are in your entrepreneurial adventure, it is wise to be in touch with current reality along with the vision, rather than choosing one over the other. Current reality may dictate your fledgling business needing mentoring by seasoned entrepreneurs. Current reality may be dictating you need to share with other collaborators in meeting your existing financial needs.

In 1978, at 27 years old, I left a sales position to begin my first company, an advertising/marketing firm called ‘Creative Energy, Unltd.’ While contracting new clients, I also knew this business was far too young to support my living expenses. For a full year, 5 days/week, I worked from 9:00 a.m. every morning through until 4:00 p.m. building the advertising business. At 5:00 p.m., I’d show up at PEMCO Insurance and work until 1:00 a.m. as a word processor. I look back now and wonder where the energy came from, but I was willing to do whatever it took to support my habit of being an entrepreneur while also paying attention to current reality.

Uncertainty

Perhaps the most singular defining trait of a true entrepreneur/independent business owner is her/his ability to ride with the element of ‘uncertainty’. I used to think it was just something one talked themselves into. However, after starting and operating several successful businesses, and experiencing financial loss as well, all the while in relationship with friends and family, I am of the opinion that there seems to be an element in one’s makeup that determines whether one will have an easier time of it being an ‘entrepreneur’. In fact, we usually are the ones who enjoyed roller coasters and the haunted house at the fairs. You who are prone to adventure and exploration will have a much easier time of it in the land of independent business ownership.

Wisdom to Thrive On:

These are my own personal musings gleaned from experience and observation over some 30 years as an entrepreneur.

Be Open to Mentors

I agree with Indra Nooyi, new Chairman and CEO of PEPSICO, that mentors will find you on the basis of your commitment and your ability to communicate your vision. I would also suggest that they come in all shapes and sizes: coaches, consultants, a book, a video, a seminar subject on the Internet.

There will be mentors for skill-based and technical training. However, there will also be times when to have a ‘business entrepreneur’ as a mentor will be ‘priceless’. Look for those who have traveled this road of creating and operating successful businesses over time with excellent results.

Develop Structures/Systems to Maximize Business Profitability

There are structures/systems that will allow the energy in your business development and profitability to be in one of three states: stuck, stagnant or flow state. Seek out business owners/entrepreneurs who have a reputation of successfully, over time, developing those structures/systems with maximum energy.

Indulge in the Community of Entrepreneurs/Indies

Sports enthusiasts do it. Dancers and artisans do it. Politicians do it. Biznik does it!

Beyond the cerebral understanding of networking that occurs when you ‘bunch’ together with kindred entrepreneurs, ‘indies’, business owners, there exists a kinetic energy when we are sitting around the table; an ‘energy’ of adventure, exploration, uncertainty, risk-taking, yup…even gambling. It’s visceral! We value it, this comraderie of visionaries, builders in the market place sharing our hopes, dreams, our battle scars.

Develop Your Identity Apart From Market Place Success

Allow your personal identity to come from being true to your core values. The cycles of the market place will come and go. The businesses that determine who, how and where you invest your time, money and energies will shift. To the degree you define yourself by a fluctuating market place, or even your business, you will be miserable. When you can show up being true to yourself and your core values, and serving whomever you come in contact with, you will enjoy the entrepreneurial life for what it is.

You’re an Entrepreneur! Congratulations! If you have the symptoms, chances are you will be this way for life. Lucky you! Lucky world! Welcome to this band of dreamers, visionaries, adventurers and explorers.

And whether you are operating your own company or working in collaboration with another’s vision, you have that unique ability to nurture an idea that rises up from the depths, give it shape and transform it into a product or service meeting the needs of those around you.

As you stay with it, there will be days when pros and cons are a blur. It is out of that soup that wisdom will arise for the next generation of dreamers, visionaries, adventurers and explorers  ~ this evolutionary tribe of entrepreneurs and business owners.

Bravo!