The Entrepreneurial Process: Building a Foundation for Success

How many times have you had what you thought was a great idea that would revolutionize an industry or simply bring ease and enjoyment to your's as well as your neighbor's lives, but were stopped short because you lacked the business experience or know how to develop the idea or build the product or service? Coming up with the idea that is going to change your life is challenging enough. But once you have done that, and have claimed your entrepreneurial spirit, how do you move from having a concept in your head to actually implementing the idea?  How should you develop your idea?   These are questions that asked by people everyday as they try to move through the entrepreneurial process to develop a successful business.

Moving from idea formulation to idea implementation creates a new set of challenges for the entrepreneur that can determine the success or failure of a project.  However, through building a foundation, which should include setting aside time to think through your vision, planning how to incorporate great people into your project and capacity building, you can overcome these challenges.  Such steps can help in developing the proper foundation of systems, procedures and people which will help a "would be" entrepreneur from succumbing to the pain and fear described by noted author Michael Gerber, in his book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It that sometimes results from an "entrepreneurial seizure".  Over time your foundation will expand to include a well developed business plan, which will not only address the inner workings of your business, but also a marketing strategy of the final good or service.  For many, these can be formidable challenges; however, they are not insurmountable. Through the next couple of posts, I will explore a series of steps you can take to begin building a foundation that can serve you on a path to finding your inner entrepreneur.    

Refuse to Live in Comfortable Mediocrity - the Path to Being an Entrepreneur

IT entrepreneur, Michael Warren, once revealed to me that one of his greatest fears is being relegated to a life of "comfortable mediocrity."  For Mr. Warren, the status quo is not an option.  The refusal to live a life of comfortable mediocrity is a common denominator that most successful entrepreneurs share.  It is their refusal to be satisfied with the status quo that keeps pushing them to set and achieve new goals. 

In today's society, it is easy to fall into a life of comfortable mediocrity.  Once we have our graduate degrees, "good" jobs, beautiful homes, and nice cars, it becomes very easy to stop challenging ourselves to move to the next level of achievement, whether that next level is setting new financial goals, implementing a new vision, or being more involved in the community.  Mr. Warren has determined that one of the ways he knows it is time for him to leave one professional opportunity to create another is by asking himself the following question:  "If everything goes according to plan, where will I be?"  If that answer is just the next rung of the corporate ladder or a position that does not require him to stretch himself intellectually or learn new skills, he knows it is time to leave for a new opportunity.   Mr. Warren says we should constantly aspire to be “something we'd like to be, but are not.”  He believes the key to success is to be the best at what you do so that people believe if they don't invest in you, the competition will.  Once you adopt this as part of your belief system, there can be no room for comfortable mediocrity.

Michael Warren also reminds aspiring entrepreneurs that as you seek to accomplish the goals of building wealth and creating institutions, it is important to act in a "patient, but relentless" fashion.  Acting in this manner will help you develop fortitude and staying- power, while strategically and carefully implementing and executing your vision.