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!