Successful Entrepreneurship It’s All About the Mix
There are many ingredients to successful entrepreneurship. There are core traits required of an entrepreneur and there are market-related considerations as well. Sometimes, it can become confusing as one successful entrepreneur’s tip may be the opposite of another successful entrepreneur’s secret to his achievements. How do we come up then with the right brew that will help us succeed? The truth is, there really is no absolute formula for success in entrepreneurship. It really simply boils down to getting the right “mix” to come up with that recipe for success.
Here are some recommended “mixes” that will guarantee that the sweet aroma of success will come your way:
A DASH OF DREAMING AND A SPRINKLE OF DOING
We’ve heard it many times before: A successful entrepreneur is a doer. He is no couch potato. He is the type of person who, when he decides to do something, does it now—and with flaming passion. But the truth is, there is a preceding ingredient to DOING, and that is: DREAMING. How many successful entrepreneurs have we heard say that their success all began with a dream? Many of the most successful businesses we know now began in a little boy’s dream or a little girl’s fantasy. Those childhood fancies grew and became visions, visions which later on became realities. We need to dream to get the ball rolling down the path to success. Dream and let the brilliant ideas come. After all, all we need for that big break is just another idea. And then, it’s time for DREAMING partner-ingredient: DOING. It’s all about chasing that dream.
A SPRING OF RISK-TAKING AND A DROP OF REALISM
Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid to tread where nobody has gone. This is part of RISK-TAKING, an important ingredient in business success. Industry tycoons will attest that taking chances is part of the journey to the top. As Debbie Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies says, “The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try.” It is not failure that we should fear when we engage in business, rather, it is not trying at all that we should dread. Like athletes whose coaches squeeze them to exert every last drop of their power and energy to win a competition, risk-taking has a way of pushing us to exert our very best to achieve what others might think is inconceivable. Without the willingness to take risks, we may never know the extent of our potentials.
However, to say that a risk-taking attitude alone will catapult one to the top is a major misconception. One needs to keep himself grounded to the boundaries of what is real. When we dream, we dream big, hence the need to take big risks as we concretize our dream. This is where, RISK-TAKING’s partner-ingredient, REALISM, kicks in. As we chase our dream, it is always wise to apply a bit of realism, just a tad of it so as not to extinguish the dream altogether, but enough for you to take an objective look at what it takes to achieve it without losing your passion for it. Realism too is needed when the going gets tough. A successful entrepreneur needs to know when it’s time to cut his losses. Remember, you do not have to sink with your ship. Know when to say adieu to a losing proposition and move on and make a fresh start. There is no need to worry about lost opportunities. As Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Enterprises, says: “Opportunities are like buses—there’s always a next one that will come along. “
A SPLASH OF FORESIGHT AND A SMIDGEN OF HINDSIGHT
Successful entrepreneurship requires a healthy mix of looking forward into the future and looking back at the past. It entails having a vision, focusing on innovative profit-making potentials for tomorrow. However, it is not constrained by prior experience. Successful entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes and never make the same mistake twice. Hence, the third combination of ingredients for success: FORESIGHT and HINDSIGHT. Both are essential to a successful entrepreneur who repeatedly makes decisions now in order to produce desired results in the future. These are “creative decisions” derived from experience, intuition and expectations. It would not be possible to produce these creative decisions without setting your eyes on both: what could be and what have been.
These are some of the recommended mixes of ingredients for successful entrepreneurship. Don’t you just love that aroma of success?
