Posted by JuJuan Buford, Entrepreneur & Writer @JSBUFORD
I had a discussion with a young, sharp, driven entrepreneur recently who was going through personal challenges (as we all do, despite the perfectly manicured social media accounts), that forced him to re-evaluate his commitment to entrepreneurship. He has successfully (defined as profitable for the purposes of this article) launched several companies underneath the age of thirty. And his success was his conundrum.
The two questions he repeatedly asked of me was, what kind of business should I start next? How should I choose? What follows was my immediate 10 minute gut reaction while chewing corned beef hash.
Don’t Be Romantic. I love a great love story. I love a great follow your passion story like everyone else. However, I also believe in making wise, strategic, lucrative investments. As an entrepreneur if the investment passes the following sniff test:
- Am I ok with the business endeavor morally?
- Does it coincide, resonate, contribute to my broader business and personal goals?
- Does the end game...when I reverse engineer it, is their harmony with my priorities and commitments?
If the answer is yes, yes, and yes, I’ll entertain it.
Yes, You Need to Be Pants on Fire Excited. That being said. Yes, you need to be pants on fire, passionate, burning hot white desire about what it is that you’re doing. For a couple reasons. People don’t pay top dollar (you are in business to be profitable) for mediocre experiences. When you spend 5 star money, you expect a 5 star burger, 5 star steak, movie, theatrical performance, experience, etc,. The bottom line is as much as I enjoying bike riding, I’m not going to go Lance Armstrong all in on it. I don’t wake up excited about biking. Therefore, I know I’m not going to commit to it, learn it, immerse myself in it, master it, put in the 10,000 hours, the same way that I’m willing to study the art of entrepreneurship.
People will travel miles and spend inordinate amounts of money to see you burn, therefore you need to be on fire about something. Whereas, when you give people more value than they expect, yes you’re doing it to secure their business, but you’re also doing it because you can’t help yourself. You just enjoy making people happy.
Purebred Entrepreneurs. There is a rare breed of person that just loves the game. GaryVee is the easiest example to point to. For some business is sport. They are very, very rare.
Life is Going to Kick You Between the Legs Sometimes. You’re going to have to learn gratitude. It’s harder than it sounds. Big time gratitude. Accept that it is no one’s responsibility to say yes to you, respect you, acknowledge you, recognize your value. It is solely your responsibility. And you need to be grateful for every door slam, hang up, and every dismissal.
You have to become just as excited for the fails as the successes. Fails are learning experiences and you must be happy to embrace them, learn from them, and make the adjustments as swiftly as possible.
Friends are going to disappoint. There are times when you may have to go at it alone. The people who are closest to you may disappoint you, forcing you to learn how to discipline your disappointments. Not everyone is willing or able to make the climb, nor will they be particularly pleased by your ascent. Still, it doesn't have to be necessarily lonely. You just have to be willing to make new friends.
People are going to die. Your car is going to break down. You may work your derrière off for 1, 2, 3 months to profit just $1.00. It happens. Divorce. Family law issues. Small, seemingly innocuous mistakes will absolutely rip a black hole into your business (surround yourself with professionals and resources). Car accidents, bad business partners, trifling employees, and the haters happen. I’m talking about the active haters, whose only success comes from stealing from yours. All this is going to happen and more.
Only passion can get you through it all. Only passion for what you’re doing. Only passion to succeed.
So, the question I ask of everyone who seeks advice regarding entrepreneurship is, what are you passionate about? Not what you think you are good at. Not what you think is a good idea. Or what has supposedly worked for you in the past. What are you passionate about? What inspires you in your bones? What really moves your spirit? Start there. Just start. Whether it be an hour a week, or an hour a day. Start.
#entrepreneurshipisempowerment
JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, a successful entrepreneur, activist, writer, and public speaker dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.
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