The Last Lecture

As I reflect on this Introduction of Entrepreneurship course, I ponder on the most important concepts that I would relay if I had to give a last lecture on this material.  The concepts that stand out to me as the most important of all on the entrepreneur’s journey are 1) Determine where your passion overlaps with market demand and pursue your business in that area; 2) Define and commit to your guiding values; and 3) Don’t give up!

Passion and Market Demand
I love the advice to find your passion, what you love to do.  Those activities and interests that you can lose all track of time when you get involved in them.  Then within that circle of interest and passion, determine where these interests overlap with a market demand.  What goods or services would people pay for that fits within your circle of passion and interests.  How can you take what you love to do and turn it into a business that will lift and benefit others.

Define and Commit to Your Guiding Values
No amount of money or power will compensate for a breach of your personal integrity.  By determining what you core guiding values are and the moral lines that you will never cross you are setting up guardrails to keep you on the right track.  Documenting these guiding values and keeping them at the forefront of your priorities each day will help you gain the respect of others and that in turn will eliminate much stress and turmoil as well as benefit your business.  So much of business is carried out through trusted relationships with others.  As you demonstrate consistently to others that you are a person of integrity who does not compromise on your values you will build trusting relationships that will be valuable both to you as an individual and to your business.

Persistence – Don’t Give Up!
So many entrepreneurs have to overcome many obstacles before finding their success.  Just because your first ideas or attempt at a business are not successful does not mean you do not have greatness ahead of you.  Every life experience is a lesson to be learned and will get you closer to your goals. Many successful entrepreneurs are not the best in their field but most, if not all, are diligent and persistent in pursuing their goals.  There are countless examples of very successful entrepreneurs that have failed many times before finding their way to success.  Don’t ever give up and Enjoy the Journey!

Finding a Mentor

An important aspect of the entrepreneur’s journey is to find a mentor.  A mentor should be someone you admire, someone who is willing to share their experiences with you and help you through the entrepreneurial process without expecting anything in return.  This is not to say you should take advantage of this person.  You can always offer to return the favor of their time by sharing your skills, talents, and resources; however, it is important to find a mentor with a heart of service who is not going to treat this mentorship as a business exchange. 

One wonderful resource for this type of mentor is the organization known as SCORE which stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives.  This organization matches up retired executives and entrepreneurs with those looking for guidance and mentoring.  These community-oriented volunteers make themselves available for 1-4 hours each week to mentor those in need of career help and entrepreneurial advice.  I, myself, have had wonderful experiences working with SCORE volunteers.  These are often highly successful individuals who have a wealth of experience and want to give back to their community.  You can find a mentor and set up a meeting by going to the website: www.score.org .  Once you enter your location, you can often choose a location and appointment time online to start the process.  I encourage anyone looking for a mentor to consider this valuable resource.

Balancing the Synergy Habit

The late Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is a foundational work in both the personal and professional world.  When I first read this book in 1990, I immediately knew it was a book I would keep on my bookshelf for life and refer back to regularly – and over 28 years later that has proven to be true.  I have read this inspiring book several times.  I have listened to the audiobook.  I have referred back to it often.  I have quoted it many times.  I have recommended it to many people.  In this book, Stephen Covey relates the importance of 7 key habits to success which are:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

The first three habits he categorizes as Private Victories – each an important aspect of having a successful private life.  Habits #4-7 he categorizes as Public Victories – each an important aspect of having a successful business and professional life.

Habit #6, Synergize, is an important aspect of working as team in which the efforts of the group are greater than the sum of its parts… 1 + 1 is always greater than 2.  As an owner of a small online business, I work very independently and in fact mostly alone.  I have recognized over the years that working within a team creates energy and accountability.  However, I have also found that in order to be productive I need to have time alone to focus.  As a person who is much more productive during alone time, this balance is very important to me.  I have a difficult time being productive when I am surrounded with conversations and activities.  As I pursue my business, I recognize the importance of finding that ideal balance of time spent within a team to all this synergy and yet enough focused productive time to allow individuals to focus.  This balance may be different for different personalities so it is important to recognize that and allow each person to find that balance within the team.

1 + 1 is certainly always greater than 2 but will be much greater than 2 when each team member is given the respect and freedom to find their own ideal balance between team time and individual time.

Successful Entrepreneurs are Doers!

I found it both comforting and enlightening to learn that most entrepreneurs don’t do extensive planning before they start their business.  In the Harvard Business Review (Mar-Apr 1994 edition) article entitled, “How Entrepreneurs Craft,” Amar Bhide says, “By the time an opportunity is investigated fully, it may no longer exist.”  He goes on to discuss the results of a survey Harvard MBA students completed on the amount of planning entrepreneurs conduct prior to starting their business.  Too much planning and analysis can lead to “analysis paralysis” while no planning is irresponsible.   Most entrepreneurs fall somewhere in between.

A full 41% of entrepreneurs on the list of 500 fastest growing businesses had no business plan prepared prior to starting their business. Now this does not mean they went into business blindly.  The majority of entrepreneurs do plenty of research and analysis to confirm their business idea is viable and there is a market for it; however, most successful entrepreneurs do this in the form of cheap, quick, and timely analyses.

Entrepreneurs tip the balance with their competition with a combination of creativity mixed with a large capacity for execution.  Successful entrepreneurs are nimble, responsive, and make constant adjustments based on new knowledge they gain.  There is no time for bureaucratic analysis when running a new business.  Wise decisions must be made quickly and plans must be adjusted based on customer feedback and constantly changing conditions.

A scripture in the bible sums up this entrepreneurial attitude. 

         “Be ye doers of the word, not just hearers only…”  James 1:22

When starting and growing a successful business, there is a constant need to take action, make decisions, and move forward.  Although, it is important to make these decisions based on the best knowledge available, it is important to not allow analysis paralysis to take the wind out of the sails of the new enterprise. 

Successful entrepreneurs are doers!

Mastery, Plateaus, and Enjoying the Journey

It has become clear through reading several books and interviews on entrepreneurship this week that to be a successful entrepreneur, it is essential to enjoy the journey.  The path to success is truly a journey – a journey of mastery, a journey of learning, a journey of correction, a journey of persistence, a journey of perseverance, a journey of success.

The process of Mastery cannot be rushed. It is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme.  Mastery comes from spending consistent daily time on a skill.  For some it is practicing the piano or violin daily for years.  For others it is the daily workouts that fine tune their Olympic sport.  For entrepreneurs, this daily mastery is a combination of working on the skills that are the core of their unique business as well as the skills of entrepreneurship itself.  Many say it takes 10,000 hours to become an “expert” in a skill or trade.  This is equivalent to 3 hours per day for 10 years or 6 hours per day for 5 years.  This requires the ability to be consistent day in and day out for a long period of time.

An important aspect of Mastery is being able to persist through the plateaus.  As George Leonard discusses in his book entitled, Mastery: The Key to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment, many people tend to get off track during the plateaus of mastery.  We often feel like we should always be improving or we are not being productive or reaching our goals.  The reality is that improvement only happens in small increments separated by long plateaus.

In his book, George Leonard reviews the three types of people who did not make it through the plateaus of life or entrepreneurship.  The “Dabbler” gets excited about a new adventure and goes all in.  He then gets quickly bored and seeks the excitement of a new adventure rather than persevering to the point of Mastery.  The “Obsessive” gets impatient with the lack of results that comes with a plateau and pushes harder and harder to find the improvement they are looking for leading to early burnout.  The “Hacker” in contrast is easily pleased and doesn’t seek improvement.  This type not only doesn’t mind the plateaus, but enjoys skimming by with minimal effort.  This type actually enjoys the plateaus but their lack of effort never leads to improvement over time and never results in Mastery.

In order to make it through these plateaus we need to have a purpose beyond just seeing improvement every day.  We need to enjoy the activities we do for their own sake. We need to be living in the moment and knowing that with consistency and hard work that in the long run we will see those results and continue on the path of Mastery but that improvement is not a reward we need to continue each day. It is during these plateaus that we need to truly learn to enjoy the journey because we may not see the results of improvements until we persevere to the other side of the plateau.  However, these plateaus are the key to our success.  Those who persist through the plateaus and can enjoy the journey will truly find Mastery.

“Are successful entrepreneurs born or made? Are entrepreneurs blessed with a rare gene or shaped by their parents and childhood? Turns out, these aren’t even the right questions.  Entrepreneurs become successful, one small investment at a time, in a never-ending process. Because entrepreneurial success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. A journey taken one determined step at a time, in a way that builds lifelong treasures.”

                              ~ Are Successful Entrepreneurs Born or Made? The Acton School of Business

Transforming FEAR

FEAR. We all have fears.  Often the fears we openly talk about are the mostly socially acceptable fears – fear of snakes, fear of spiders, fear of crazed murderers.  How often do we spend time pondering on our deeper emotional and psychological fears.  These aren’t as socially acceptable and are closer to our heart which makes them more difficult to express.  All entrepreneurs have fears and some of those fears keep them from moving forward to achieve their dreams.

The Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence has produced a helpful guide for entrepreneurs called Deconstructing Your Fears.  In this publication, entrepreneurs are encouraged to face the “boogeyman” and shine the proverbial flashlight under the childhood bed to find those nighttime monsters.

“For entrepreneurs, like most people, fear is the subtle saboteur. It lobs self-doubts, what-if’s, and paranoia from behind the bushes along the trail. Fear thrives on secrecy. The less defined it is, the more deadly its attacks. While entrepreneurs are highly adept at naming goals, they are less sophisticated at clarifying their fears.  

This learning experience will help you focus on the fears you have about pursuing your dreams. By naming your fears in detail, you will diminish their power. You’ll gain a further advantage if you act on your fears by creating a plan for mitigating your risks and bouncing back if all else fails. 

Like a child who shines a flashlight under her bed at night, you might find that the boogeyman never existed at all. Perhaps there was nothing to fear, after all. Are you ready to shine a light on your nightmare business scenarios?”                                    ~ Deconstructing Your Fears by the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Entrepreneurs are often great at expressing their goals and the steps necessary to achieve them; however, they are much less likely to express their fears and the steps necessary to address them.  Sometimes our greatest fears are figments of our imagination and by going through this exercise of self-exploration we can discover each of our deepest fears about starting a business, determine if the fear is based on authentic risks, determine how to mitigate those risks, and have a plan on how to recover from a worse case scenario related to that risk. In this exercise, we can also determine which fears are figments of our imagination or require simple mitigation to minimize their risk.

The activity is a simple one.  Start with a piece of paper and divide it into three columns.  In the first column list your fears as they relate to starting a business.  In the second column, list the strategies to mitigate the risks related to each fear.  In the third column, list the plan to return to the status quo should a worse-case scenario become a reality.

By acknowledging our fears, pondering the details of each one, how to mitigate it’s affect on our business and our life, and then putting together a plan for recovering from those affects in a worse-case scenario, we can begin to shine the light on our fears and see them more accurately.  When we address our fears, talk about them, ponder on them, and write about them, they lose their power over us and begin to transform from fears to stepping stones on our path to success.

When Helping is Not Helpful - Ethical Guardrails

We all need to establish some guardrails in our life.  At times, these ethical and moral guardrails will help us to stay on the path to our true long-term goals rather than getting distracted by immediate gratifications of money, fame, or acceptance.  These guardrails are the “I will never” and “I will always” standards that we set for ourselves to avoid the pitfalls of getting lured into unethical behavior based on personal gain, avoiding situations, or even helping others. I consider myself a person of strong moral values and integrity and although I don’t consider myself immune to ethical dilemmas, I do consider myself fairly strong in that area.  However, this week I listed to a podcast that gave me some food for thought in this area.

A podcast host interviewed a gentleman who was very successful working for a financial firm and earning over $500,000 annually whose life was turned upside down when he was convicted for activities related to insider trading.  This financial professional was very open in discussing the events that led up to this conviction. This man was approached by a friend who was in hard times to share bits of information that might help him to earn money through buying and selling small lots of stocks.  In return, for the information the friend would share 1/3 of his earnings with the financial professional, keep 1/3 for himself, and set aside 1/3 for taxes.  Being less enticed by the payoff but more concerned about helping his friend in what seemed like a small infringement that did not actually steal from any individual.  After all, when someone makes money on the buying and selling of stocks, who is the victim?  There appears to not be any as the value is created from nothing.  So, they agreed to this arrangement and the man began to share inside information that allowed his friend to carry out this plan.  The financial professional received a few payoffs of several thousand dollars over time.  They generally met in a café to make the financial exchange.

One day the friend called to arrange for the exchange and was on a time crunch to leave town and asked if the man could meet him in a parking lot instead so he could get on the road faster for his trip.  They agreed and make the exchange in the parking lot.  The next day, the FBI showed up at the financial professional’s home and interrogated him regarding his insider trading activities. The man immediately confessed and cooperated with authorities.  After learning more about the situation, he learned that his friend was not buying and selling small amounts of stock, but had in fact made millions of dollars on this activity even though he had passed on $3000 to $5000 to the financial professional to make it appear he was making similar amounts.  The financial professional had made approximately $75,000 in these transactions which is certainly a significant amount but compared to his income was a mere 15% of his annual salary.  He also learned that the meeting his friend arranged in the parking lot rather than in the café was a sting operation that allowed his friend to obtain a plea bargain if he helped the FBI to convict the financial professional.  They both were convicted, spent time in prison, and had substantial setbacks to their careers and family relationships.

The lessons learned for me both in this week’s topics of study and listening to this podcast is that sometimes even people of high integrity can get lured into unethical practices under the guise of “helping” others.  This is a valuable lesson that we all need guardrails – those boundaries that we do not cross even when it comes to “helping” others.