Many people are familiar with the diagram above. Simply put, if you can harness your skills where they overlap with your passion and it is financially viable, then you will never work another day in your life – you’ll simply be doing what you love.
It works BUT there’s a major caveat when applied to entrepreneurs and small businesses owners.
It’s taken for granted that to launch out in business, you need huge commitment, energy, stamina, belief and a passion in yourself and what you are doing. Every book, manual, training course and ‘expert’ will tell you this. And yet, even when these are present in abundance, the enterprise fails. Just look at the figures, worldwide some 45% of new business ventures fail within 2 years. In SA, it’s closer to 85%!
So, if the Magic Formula works – which it does – what’s missing for entrepreneurs?
The missing ingredient is cold, hard, blunt HONESTY. Not with clients, staff, financiers or anyone else that you come into contact with but with YOURSELF.
Yes, it comes down to being truly honest with yourself. Every entrepreneur and business owner I have ever encountered talks and lives their passion. It exudes from every pore. However, the successful ones, the ones that really make it happen, can also detach themselves and become totally DIS-passionate when assessing and reviewing business performance.
How do you do it? What can help you to stand back and really see what is going on without emotional attachment? It certainly isn’t easy but there are some things you can do. Here’s a few to get started with:
Praise doesn’t equal Success
Entrepreneurs that survive have learnt to distinguish between real success and ego-boosting awards. There is a world of difference between winning a business plan competition, becoming someone’s Entrepreneur of the Year and having paying and profitable customers served by an organisation that satisfies their needs. By all means, use the awards effectively in your marketing to bolster your business image but never, ever believe your own hype!
Stop lying to yourself
Lying is a part of life, business is no exception and for start-up businesses it is almost a necessity. Business can spend an inordinate amount of time (and therefore money) on trying to understand the true intentions behind the words of their clients, employees, suppliers and competition. However, there is very little focus on some of the most damaging lies of all – the ones we tell ourselves.
So when you are unsure of what to do, close the door, make sure no one is around, look in the mirror, and tell yourself the truth. All of it. The unadulterated, bare bones, brutally honest truth.
Employ strong willed, opinionated people
Yes, they can be a pain to manage and control. Yes, they make it difficult to do exactly what you want. But, when they have bought into the vision that you have for the business, they can be some of your greatest allies.
It means surrounding yourself with people who will do what is right for the venture, not what your feelings dictate. It is very difficult for a strong-willed and passionate entrepreneur to really listen to critics. So, if you find people who will be painfully honest with you, get them on board.
Know when to quit
Successful entrepreneurs don’t have some innate or genetic skill in risk management. They learn how to manage risk by failing fast, failing early (and therefore small) before regrouping, and starting down a different path. A lot is spoken and written of the need for perseverance in the face of adversity but failing fast and learning as much as possible from the experience is the second best thing an entrepreneur can do.
Interestingly, a key reason that suitably qualified people don’t make the jump into starting and running their own business is that they don’t trust themselves to know when or how to quit.
So, by all means harness your passion in search of your ideal business but, when you launch and run your venture, let nothing get in the way of sober, hard headed, objective assessment. And if you struggle with that – get a coach!
