So you have decided that you want to be an entrepreneur.
Congratulations!!
But do you know that out of every 100 businesses that are formed only 10 will be in existence after the initial five years and out of these remaining 10 only one will still be in existence after the next 5 years.
So effectively your chances of just surviving (not making tons of money) for 10 years is just 1 in a 100.
Do you also know that according to the laws of psychology our characters and personalities are formed in the first 7 years of our lives and subsequently there is little you can do to change what you are. Methods exist for self transformation but they involve an enormous amount of effort.
Do you still want to be an entrepreneur?
You are risking your time, money, reputation when the odds are stacked against you. If you quit your career as an employee now it may be difficult if not impossible to resume your career again 5 or 10 years from now. You have – quite likely – a family to support. And you don’t want to live the life of a dependent – believe me. Been there, done that.
So this is the time to decide. Do you still want to be an entrepreneur? If you have decided in the negative you can stop reading right now and get on with your life. Forget business and be happy.
Think it over. I’ll wait.
You’re still here. That’s great. You’ve proved that you are determined. This is one of the main requirements for succeeding in any endeavour including starting a business.
I’ll explain in this and the next article some strategies which limit the risk and increase the odds of your succeeding. Let’s dive right in.
Edison’s formula for success
I am sure you must have heard of Thomas Edison. He was a scientist cum businessman and registered a record number of 1093 patents (singly or jointly). He was the driving force behind such innovations as the phonograph, the light bulb and one of the earliest motion picture cameras.
Edison is reported to have done as many as 10,000 experiments to find out a way to develop a certain product. Each time he failed he said to himself and his staff, “I have not failed. I have just found another method that will not work.”
So the basic point is that you must be prepared to fail repeatedly before you find the one way that works for you. And once you have found out what works you just keep repeating the successful method over and over to make money. Rinse and repeat.
But another point about failing is that you must fail cheaply and quickly. You must not invest too much time, effort, energy and money in any one method as you are experimenting. If you spend years in order to discover that your method will not work then that is time and money that you will not get back. You need to keep trying and experimenting after each failed attempt.
So here is the method in a nutshell-
- Experiment
- Fail quickly and cheaply while experimenting
- Find out the method which works for you through your experimentation
- Apply the method to make money in your business
- Rinse and repeat
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to a few more articles about business in the coming weeks. Please explore this site for more insights on Politics, Self Help and Spirituality. Please share the articles if you liked them and stay in touch through the contact form below.
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