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1
LETâS GET A FEW
THINGS STRAIGHT âŚ
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1 GET YOUR HEAD RIGHT
Dogs think like dogs, therefore they are dogs. Entrepreneurs think like entrepreneurs, therefore they are entrepreneurs. And thatâs the mindset you need. We could go on for days about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur (and will do so, in the following pages). We could analyse the mind of an entrepreneur in a million different ways; but Iâm not talking about that. Iâm talking about the very first step â the mindset you need to adopt, and then embody, before you take another step. Be the entrepreneur before you become the entrepreneur.
Letâs be clear: itâs not for everyone ⌠People may fly high on their corporate ladders or they may be great, talented employees, but that doesnât make them entrepreneurs. The systems are so diametrically opposed that being a âgood corporate citizenâ is almost an indicator that youâll be a bad entrepreneur. The environment, the head-space and, yes, the rules are not the same.
An entrepreneur wants freedom and in return takes responsibility for everything. Everything. You canât ask for a pay increase, you need to hustle harder. You canât run to your senior and ask him or her to handle the difficult client, you need to smarten up and resolve it. No more waiting for someone to give you the right direction â you have to find it â and no referring to âpolicyâ to help you make a decision. No time off. No delayed responses. No sales team. The buck stops with YOU. Risks arenât always something to be avoided, but rather to be taken advantage of. The same applies to threats.
Itâs one hell of a mind-shift if you just came out of employment. There was always someone to go to, someone to help. Now you are on your own â naked and shivering â and you need to be OK with that. And, more importantly, you need to do whatever it takes to make it work. Hustle!
But itâs not all doom and gloom. Youâll probably learn more than youâve ever learned in your life. Youâll probably work harder than youâve ever worked in your life. Fail (like most do) and you can either try again or return to the job you left and hand in your freedom for security and an orthopaedic desk chair. And if that happens, itâs OK. Not everyone was born to be an entrepreneur. Some people flourish in a corporate environment and will make more money and be happier there than theyâll ever be as an entrepreneur.
But pull it off and youâll be rewarded more, and be happier than ever before!
Still on a mission and ready to take full responsibility? Then buckle up.
An entrepreneur wants freedom and in return takes responsibility for everything.
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2 YOUâRE NOT THE FIRST
An idea in isolation is not a business, but it may be the start of one.
If you think youâve got a great, one-of-a-kind idea, I will take you a bet that it has already been thought of, or done, somewhere else in the world. And even if it hasnât, an idea means nothing if you donât do something with it. Sadly, many people have the spark of a great idea, but it fails to ignite anything. My point? The business is not just the idea.
The worst idea in the world executed by a pro will be a better business than the worldâs best idea executed by an amateur (if it even gets that far) ...
Discovery was not South Africaâs first medical aid. Facebook was not the worldâs first social network. Messrs Gore and Zuckerberg just did it better. They are two great examples of well-executed businesses that happened at the right time.
Those are some pretty big examples. Often you donât even need a great idea at all. For the entrepreneur who just wants to create a great small business, you donât have to start a revolution, but you need to spend time finding ways to improve an existing business where there is already a market. Your chances of success are higher and youâll probably find customers more quickly. Sometimes you just need to execute the existing idea better than the rest of your competition.
Google âPlumber in Johannesburgâ and 761 247 results appear. Think you canât open another plumbing business? Of course you can. You just need to find smarter ways of reaching your target audience, do a better job, and thus retain customers, than the other guys on the list. (In more than ten years in the property business, I still havenât found a reputable plumber.)
If you truly have a brilliant idea, execute and monetise it as fast as you can. If you want to improve an existing one, get cracking. Either way, the idea and the business which will grow from it live and die with you.
The worst idea in the world executed by a pro will be a better business than the worldâs best idea executed by an amateur.
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3 REALITY RAN OUT OF CHAMPAGNE
You open Instagram and thereâs a video of a young guy on a yacht, girls are leaning over him and popping champagne. The video cuts to a smiling man wearing a suit and driving a Ferrari. Then text pops up: âLive your dream, become an entrepreneur!â Or some such horse manure.
We see inspiring quotes by Richard Branson that we should âsay YES to everything and figure it out laterâ, over an image of him on his private island. We see images of Leonardo DiCaprio in his role as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. Mark Cuban. Hugh Hefner.
The world has created a warped perception of entrepreneurs and their lifestyles: success, money, girls, cars, happiness, freedom. The destination is celebrated, and the journey is forgotten.
The reality is rather different. Hard work. Long hours. Failing businesses. Cash flow issues. Issues. More issues.
Few will make it. Fewer yet will make it big. One in ten entrepreneurs will even approach success, and maybe, just maybe, 1 per cent of those will see the money, girls, cars, yachts, happiness, freedom and a million followers on Instagram.
Entrepreneurs have become the rock stars of the 21st century. Everyone wants to be one. We admire the ones who made it and we donât hear much about the ones who didnât. Funnily enough, the odds of making your mark in music are slightly higher than the odds of a major success in business.
Donât get me wrong â entrepreneurship is amazing and Iâm passionate about small businesses because I believe in them. But the world is painting a picture that is not even close to reality. If you decide to make this leap, at least know that you will give up many things in your life to chase the dream, and when things are tough you need to be willing to go to your grave still trying. At least initially, you may lose more than you gain. And when you do reap the rewards, thereâs a very strong chance it wonât require opening up accounts in Switzerland.
If you are employed and thinking of making the move to become an entrepreneur, do it for whatever reasons you like, but never do it because you think it will be an easier journey, with a pot oâ gold at the end. Donât do it for the champagne â you may well have to be happy with a Coke and some ice cubes. But theyâll be yours.
The world has created a warped perception of entrepreneurs and their lifestyles.
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4 PREPARE FOR SACRIFICE
Iâve worked with thousands of small business owners in South Africa and the stories they tell are largely the same. They talk about how they want to spend time with their family, but they are the last to leave the office because they are working to grow their business. They pay their employees and suppliers first and hope they have enough for themselves (most days they donât). Theyâve had to learn new skills â sometimes even new languages â and how to develop new solutions to old problems. Their sweat can be measured in buckets.
I always cringe when I hear people saying that they want to become an entrepreneur so that they can live an easier life. Or that they are working too hard in their corporate jobs and need the flexibility of entrepreneurship. The very opposite is true: entrepreneurship will take much more from you. More time, more money, more energy, more brain power. Sacrifice.
Most of your friends wonât understand this journey. They work seven-hour days and warn you about burning out. They donât get why you canât drink beer with them after work or join them for the rugby match at the weekend. They gape in disbelief when you tell them youâve never heard of that new TV show âthat everyone is watchingâ. They call you names and think you are arrogant. Your business is your everything and you live it. They donât understand and, until you actually get into it, nor will you.
Do most entrepreneurs fail because of bad business ideas? No. Lack of intelligence or knowledge? No. Underestimating the sacrifices that they needed to make in order to succeed? In most cases, absolutely. To succeed, set your expectations to their most realistic setting. Do it. Right now. Be well prepared for the fight.
I was involved in a business with a young woman who, as a result of the challenges of building her entrepreneurial dream compounded by the additional pressures of raising her children, had to sleep in her car outside the office just to get the rest she need. Elon Musk rented out his apartment, slept in the office and showered at the gym when he was starting out. But they get it: two objects cannot exist in the same space in time, and nor can your business and your family life.
The great thing? When you know what youâre in for, youâre prepared. When youâre prepared to give it your all, you will do so, and you will definitely come out better at the other end. Itâs more rewarding than anything else. But you have to accept that along the way youâll have many...
