Who is an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneur is one who makes an innovative business idea into reality by setting up a business firm that aims to be financially profitable in a self-sustaining manner. An entrepreneur may be a small business owner in the initial stages, whereas all small business owners may not be entrepreneurs. This is mainly because, a small business owner sets up a usual and traditional type of business which many others may be doing, while an entrepreneur sets up a new kind of business which may not be attempted yet or which may not be proven to be successful yet. The entrepreneur is one who is passionate and has a long term vision about his idea.
Entrepreneurial Life
There are several stages in the entrepreneurial life cycle. Entrepreneurial life is a series of ups and down. Success and failures are just different phases of an entrepreneur’s life. It is very important not be overjoyed by success or bogged down by failures as they two may be happening one after another. It is better to treat these two imposters in the same way. It is worthwhile to follow the below quote of Nobel laureate, Rudyard Kipling
“If you can meet success and failure and treat them both as impostors, then you are a balanced man, my son.” — Rudyard Kipling
Stages in the Roller Coaster Ride
The roller coaster ride of an entrepreneur has several dramatic ups and down along the way. The entrepreneurial roller coaster ride can be broadly classified in to the following stages.
- Uninformed optimism
- Facing the distractors
- Informed pessimism
- Crisis of meaning
- Crash and burn
- It is okay to fail
- Hopeful realization
Uninformed Optimism
At this stage, the entrepreneur is fresh with the idea and is pumped up to go ahead starting with the idea, even though there is no clue about the road ahead. The motivation level is so high and s/he is insanely positive that the entrepreneur is all set for a bumpy ride. The ability to identify the reality is compromised by the uninformed optimism. The entrepreneur is highly excited as s/he is on his way to fulfil his/her great dream.
Facing the Distractors
Distractors are those who discourage the entrepreneur from going ahead with the startup idea. They use all possible means to stop the entrepreneur from starting up. They say all kind of negative things that throw cold water on the fired up spirit of the entrepreneur. These distractors may be in the form of a frightened spouse who may pester the potential entrepreneur not to go ahead by citing all possible challenges the family may have if the startup fails. Even the neighbour who works for some organization may boast about how comfortable the life is for a 9 – 5 salaried person. If the entrepreneur is unmarried and into a relationship, the partner may say that they should pursue “their” dreams together and not dream of the entrepreneur. There might be a friend who keeps trying to dissuade the entrepreneur by putting up all theories and statements to prove the startup idea is wrong. Even the mother can be a source of a great distraction. She may even emotionally blackmail the entrepreneur. The distractors may be even some relatives who expects that others should follow their advice, irrespective of validity of the advice. They may even curse the entrepreneur for his startup ambitions and may go to the extent of cursing by saying that the entrepreneur will lose all money that has been invested in the startup. However the uninformed optimism of the entrepreneur overcomes these distractors and it is advisable to stay away from the people who keeps on saying negative things about the startup idea without any proper validation.
Read the Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster Ride Experience of New York Times best-selling author Darren Hardy
Informed Pessimism
After the entrepreneur starts up, he/she faces the reality. Getting the first customer on board will surely be a challenging task. The startup idea may not go as planned. There might be a need to make alternations to the business idea and the plan. Hiring co-workers may be even challenging. Some good talents may not come to work for the pay package the entrepreneur has planned. The motivation level even may come down and s/he may feel the idea may not even work out. The entrepreneur tries out all possible means to save the startup from failing.
Crisis of Meaning
When the startup idea doesn’t pan out as expected, the entrepreneur gets confused and feels left out. At this particular stage, self-doubts creep in and the entrepreneur feels extremely worried. Questions like why me?, Am I good for nothing? keep coming. At this stage, the entrepreneur is left with two options, either to continue ride the roller coaster or crash and burn.
Crash and Burn
Crash and burn is the stage where the entrepreneur feels the lack of motivation to continue the entrepreneurial journey. The lack of motivation may be attributed to varieties of reasons ranging from lack of finances, fear of failures, not able to find a new idea, not able to find a suitable cofounder, etc.
It is okay to fail
It is absolutely okay to fail, though it may be mentally difficult to accept and face the failure. It may be financially draining. It may be very embarrassing to face all the distractors who once told you not to startup. They may be even like, “I told you already, only if you had listened to me?”. It is worthwhile not to listen to such words of the distractors. Otherwise, it may even lead to depression. But remember, the entrepreneur has tried and done something that not many have even thought about!
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. — Albert Einstien
Ride the Roller Coaster Ride again
The entrepreneur asses him/herself about the possibility of continuing the ride. S/he decides the whether the stress faced in the informed pessimism stage can be converted to a positive energy that will take him/her forward in the entrepreneurial journey which will be filled lot of rough times and uncertainties.
LISTEN TO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ROLLER COASTER RIDE EXPERIENCE OF NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR DARREN HARDY
Hopeful Realization
Hope realization is the stage where is entrepreneur’s startup is able to sustain without any major hiccups. Reaching this stage is no small feat as this requires lot of patience, courage and sense of perseverance. At this stage, the entrepreneur’s confidence is dramatically increases and his/her momentum seems to be unstoppable. At the same time, the entrepreneur should not become complacent as the entrepreneurial journey will be full of bumpy rides with ups and downs.
Continuation of Roller Coaster Ride
The entrepreneurial roller coaster ride happens in phases in an entrepreneurial journey. The entrepreneur cannot be complacent once a success is achieved. A successful entrepreneur is the one who remains successful. But in reality it may not happen. Entrepreneur should understand that success and failures are different phases of the entrepreneurial journey and continue to move from one phase to another without the loss of enthusiasm and enjoyment.
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