Coulda.Woulda.Shoulda.Three words you won't find in a dictionary - or an entrepreneur's head.How many times a week does this happen to you? You're driving down the street and you see a new business that just opened."What a great idea! I shoulda thought of that!".Or, you are flipping through the latest issue of a business magazine and you read about somebody starting something on their kitchen table that turned them into a multi-millionaire."Man! That coulda been me! I woulda been rich!".Chances are that lots of people DID think of these ideas before.However, as my father used to say, "thinking and doing are two different things." The truth is, it takes a special breed of person to bring life to a great business idea.Today's Entrepreneur.The modern day Don Quixote - tilting at windmills in search of glory and great fortune.Who will come up with the next Pet Rock or Cabbage Patch Doll? The next McDonald's or Microsoft? The next Starbuck's or Harry Potter series? Will it be you?Do you find entrepreneurial journeys fascinating? Don't you often want to know the story behind the business? The story of the person that created an exciting company? Did they hit it big the first time out? Or, did it take a few false starts to get THE right idea? What were some of their biggest obstacles?I happen to find these stories fascinating.I suppose that is because I fancy myself one of those wacky entrepreneurial birds.No, I haven't yet "hit it big" YET but I have hit a couple of singles and an occasional double.I work on my swing every day hoping that one day, I too, will hit the big one out of the park.Entrepreneurial birds never seem to quite fly with the formation.They always want to try out a new path or a new way to tilt their wings.They seem to always fly a bit too high or a bit too low.Sometimes they fly in a different direction altogether.Such is the nature of those afflicted with Entrepreneurial Fever.Like a common cold that starts with a single germ, Entrepreneurial Fever starts with a single spark.A vision of what COULD exist.What SHOULD exist! The belief that the world will be a better place if such an idea DID come to life.Those afflicted awaken in the middle of the night with variations of their latest bright idea.What if we did this? What if we did that? Will it make money? What if it doesn't? Is it worth the risk?RISK.That awful four letter word.It's impossible to write an article about entrepreneurship without mentioning that nasty little word.The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.Or so, they say.I know people that would rather have their teeth pulled than to take a risk - of ANY kind.I'll admit that I'm not as "risk friendly" as I was in my younger skydiving, cave diving, gotta-go-there-do-that days.However, I'm still up for a good cliff hanger if it seems like there might be something awesome on the other side.The entrepreneurial roller coaster has high highs and low lows.It is not the ride of choice for most.We get excited, deflated, distracted.Occasionally, we get on a coaster that seems to have lost its STOP button.We dig in and bring our ideas to life.Sometimes we win.Sometimes we fail.We always enjoy the challenge.For the true entrepreneur, the joy is in the journey.The joy of making the world a little bit better by what we create.Life is often difficult for those of us afflicted with entrepreneurial fever.Difficult yes.But oh so worth it!Naysayers beware.I have a sign on my refrigerator that concisely states my mantra. "Those who say it can't be done need to get out of the way of those that are doing it.".
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Entrepreneurial Fever - Do You Have the Bug?
Coulda.Woulda.Shoulda.Three words you won't find in a dictionary - or an entrepreneur's head.How many times a week does this happen to you? You're driving down the street and you see a new business that just opened."What a great idea! I shoulda thought of that!".Or, you are flipping through the latest issue of a business magazine and you read about somebody starting something on their kitchen table that turned them into a multi-millionaire."Man! That coulda been me! I woulda been rich!".Chances are that lots of people DID think of these ideas before.However, as my father used to say, "thinking and doing are two different things." The truth is, it takes a special breed of person to bring life to a great business idea.Today's Entrepreneur.The modern day Don Quixote - tilting at windmills in search of glory and great fortune.Who will come up with the next Pet Rock or Cabbage Patch Doll? The next McDonald's or Microsoft? The next Starbuck's or Harry Potter series? Will it be you?Do you find entrepreneurial journeys fascinating? Don't you often want to know the story behind the business? The story of the person that created an exciting company? Did they hit it big the first time out? Or, did it take a few false starts to get THE right idea? What were some of their biggest obstacles?I happen to find these stories fascinating.I suppose that is because I fancy myself one of those wacky entrepreneurial birds.No, I haven't yet "hit it big" YET but I have hit a couple of singles and an occasional double.I work on my swing every day hoping that one day, I too, will hit the big one out of the park.Entrepreneurial birds never seem to quite fly with the formation.They always want to try out a new path or a new way to tilt their wings.They seem to always fly a bit too high or a bit too low.Sometimes they fly in a different direction altogether.Such is the nature of those afflicted with Entrepreneurial Fever.Like a common cold that starts with a single germ, Entrepreneurial Fever starts with a single spark.A vision of what COULD exist.What SHOULD exist! The belief that the world will be a better place if such an idea DID come to life.Those afflicted awaken in the middle of the night with variations of their latest bright idea.What if we did this? What if we did that? Will it make money? What if it doesn't? Is it worth the risk?RISK.That awful four letter word.It's impossible to write an article about entrepreneurship without mentioning that nasty little word.The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.Or so, they say.I know people that would rather have their teeth pulled than to take a risk - of ANY kind.I'll admit that I'm not as "risk friendly" as I was in my younger skydiving, cave diving, gotta-go-there-do-that days.However, I'm still up for a good cliff hanger if it seems like there might be something awesome on the other side.The entrepreneurial roller coaster has high highs and low lows.It is not the ride of choice for most.We get excited, deflated, distracted.Occasionally, we get on a coaster that seems to have lost its STOP button.We dig in and bring our ideas to life.Sometimes we win.Sometimes we fail.We always enjoy the challenge.For the true entrepreneur, the joy is in the journey.The joy of making the world a little bit better by what we create.Life is often difficult for those of us afflicted with entrepreneurial fever.Difficult yes.But oh so worth it!Naysayers beware.I have a sign on my refrigerator that concisely states my mantra. "Those who say it can't be done need to get out of the way of those that are doing it.".
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