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According the Small Business Administration, almost 90% of all businesses in America fail.
When I heard that statistic, I wrote this in the hopes that someone, somewhere might read it. And that it would give them hope.
Dear Struggling Entrepreneur,
Fight. Don’t quit.
You’ve gotta be a fighter to be a successful entrepreneur. What you are doing as an entrepreneur is far too important to quit.
Are you prepared to ignite?
That’s the question that John Lee Dumas asks at the beginning of each episode of his amazing podcast, Entrepreneur on Fire. After spending nearly an hour with him yesterday being interviewed for an upcoming episode, I consider John a friend. After listening to approximately half of his more than 300 episodes, I am on fire.
My episode will air in the next two months. In it I share my entrepreneurial journey. I also asked John to share a very important tip about community for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and all leaders alike.
Take it away John…
Don’t go it Alone, Community Matters
The good old 9 to 5. Health insurance, regular paychecks and a built-in community of individuals who are there to help you when you have questions, support you when you’re prepping for that big presentation and who motivate you when you’re having a bad day.
Most of us have an entrepreneurial spirit whether we realize it or not.
You’ve probably started more businesses than you realize. Yes, I am counting your lawncare business when you were ten. Yes, I am counting the spy agency you started when you were twelve. And yes, I am even counting the time you thought you could somehow profit from making a giant ball of rubber bands (or was that just me?).
Most kids started businesses what seemed like all the time.
As a child you said…
When you were a child, you saw problems with the world and said:
“I need to do something about that.”
“I should _____.”
“I can solve that.”
Life isn’t like Field of Dreams. Just because you build something it doesn’t mean anyone will use it.
Just because you open a business, create a killer product, offer top-notch consulting services at competitive prices, or incorporate yourself doesn’t mean that people will flock to give you money. The fact is that most businesses fail because of their marketing and sales.
“You should hire more entrepreneurial types,” I told a friend recently.
“But that would be total chaos,” he replied.
He is right. It would be total chaos. But it would also result in team members who are deeply invested in the performance of their division or team, just like an entrepreneur.
What is risk?
That question was posed by a professor to sixty MBA students who were executives of public corporations.
I was reviewing my notes from the book, The Millionaire Next Door this week, and transferring them to digital format. My copy of the book is so old, I think Gutenberg himself printed it. E-readers were a fantasy when this gem came out. And yet, the book is still relevant today.
In the book, when the professor asked that question,
One student replied: Being an entrepreneur?
His fellow students agreed. Then the professor answered his own question with a quote from an entrepreneur:
What is risk? Having one source of income. Employees are at risk…They have a single source of income. What about the entrepreneur who sells janitorial services to your employers? He has hundreds and hundreds of customers…hundreds and hundreds of sources of income.
I was asked a similar question recently at dinner with some new friends. When I mentioned that I went out on my own almost two years ago, one man replied, “Wow. That must have been scary and risky.”