Thrills, Chills, and Spills of the Entrepreneur Journey
Thrills, Chills, and Spills of the Entrepreneur Journey
An Entrepreneur Journey is not the Roller Coaster Ride of an Amusement Park
by Gary Rushin, CPA | CGMA
Operating a business is not like enjoying an amusement park. The thrills, chills, and spills are real for an entrepreneur. Keep in mind, the pain from entrepreneurial spills can and will happen. Also, the rewards from entrepreneurial thrills can make your journey worth it.
As an entrepreneur, you want to succeed. When putting your blood, sweat, and tears into starting and running your business only to learn all the obstacles and the things you do not know, entrepreneurial success is not easy. However, you’re going to succeed to enjoy the fruits of your labor. How? By understanding the fundamentals of business.
Over the years, I have worked with many entrepreneurs, small and large, from professional organizations and family-owned businesses to “mom and pop” enterprises. It is entirely self-evident that entrepreneurs must understand the fundamental truth of starting and operating a business.
Let’s start with the fundamental truth, the foundation: An effective business is a unified system of interdependent parts amounting into a cohesive organization or scheme…integrating processes, procedures, employees, customers, and management. This combined system, your business, represents you, the entrepreneur. If the company is not operating with the thrills you desire, look at the parts you put together. Ask yourself, is one or more components broken or misaligned affecting the whole?
As the business is a reflection of you, it is how you craft the company or system that often dictates the profitability or failure of the organization. Think about the proverb, “the fish stinks first at the head.” The saying is true in business. The number one reason that a company fails is management. Management refuses to recognize that a problem exists, or management does not take action to mitigate or solve the problem. Well, entrepreneur, you are the head, “management.”
Understand that you just do not own the business. You are the business. You are engaged in commerce wanting a money-making, idea-generating machine. Craving to feel the thrills, the chills, and spills of the entrepreneur journey, the astute entrepreneur takes steps to follow the fundamentals. Take a look at just three of Michael Gerber’s, 10-Guiding Principles for Startups, which also applies to all businesses:
The Systems: You must recognize that a small business is a System, which all parts contribute to your success or failure as a whole. Everything must work together from your employees to the owner; from the equipment to your resources; from the procedures to your processes.
Sustainability: Your business must be dynamic meaning must able to thrive through all economic conditions. Key to survival, the company must operate in all markets and provide meaningful, highly differentiated results to your customers.
Scalability: Your business must be scalable to be successful. You must have the ability to right-size the company based on market conditions, from growing the business to meet customer demand to downsize the company in the event a catastrophic incident takes place.
Are you a missionary or are you a mercenary? As an entrepreneur, go into business to create something. Money should not be the primary motivator or goal. A limiting goal can prove excruciatingly frustrating, especially in the early stage. And it won’t justify the vigor and grit required. Start a business because you’re passionate about your idea and the value you believe you can create.
Finally, as an entrepreneur, you must embrace adaptability. If your first plan fails, adopt another strategy. And if that plan fails, choose another approach. Develop a Plan A, a Plan B, and even a Plan C. Building a business requires patience. Understanding your company is not going to take off in one day. You will have to adapt and embrace change. Taking corrective action is a necessary move you must make to achieve success.