“Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
So you have a dream and would do ANYTHING to reach that goal. The problem is that governmental red tape is sucking your soul, your partner is lazy, your new staff is unreliable and un-trainable, the Chinese product you invested in broke and failed completely, your car just ran out of gas, and you are now officially more than broke: You’re broke as a joke. Many would give up, and that’s okay. Yes you heard me; it’s totally ok. Some people are just not cut out for business.
“Yes you heard me; it’s totally ok. Some people are just not cut out for business.
There are conflicting opinions on how startups should be treated. Some think they need to be sheltered in a glass dome surrounded by a protective cage and exposed to soft sunlight, a drip feed, and played quiet classical music in the background as we shower them with dollars. Others (like me) think that they should be thrown in the middle of the woods surrounded by hungry wolves, and given a spoon and a business card and told to survive. If they come out with a kickass furry jacket (wolfskin) and a full belly then they are ready to be funded.
The sad joke is when individuals who have no experience in the business arena are given positions and licensed to distribute money to startups. They fall for a pretty business plan or some nice numbers on a screen. Unfortunately that is not what must be looked at. You need to invest in the person standing in front of you. If that person is scarred (with wolf bites), is tough, tenacious, and can stand the ass kicking that life dishes out then that is 50% of the evaluation. The other 50% is if the idea is realistic, feasible, and can make money. Only a businessman or an entrepreneur has the experience to do these kinds of evaluations. Pencil pushers will remain what they are: Scholars who know how to draw a pretty picture, but don’t know what survival in the woods really means.
“The sad joke is when individuals who have no experience in the business arena are given positions and licensed to distribute money to startups.
So to those who complain about red tape, obstacles, and difficulties in getting registered (or worse yet, getting funding) I say be like the lonely weed: It can grow in any crack on the street, needs no water, needs no sun, is tough to chew, harder to grab (it’s spiky), and can grow anywhere and last for a long time. Any entrepreneur who dreams things should be peachy and rosy (with easy funding) should wake up and go home. Flowers are nice to have on a window sill to be smelled and given to a loved one on Valentines’ day, but I wouldn’t leave them in the evil woods to survive.
For those who want to be independent flourishing entrepreneurs I say enjoy the mud and filth of the forest. A real entrepreneur knows that if he can’t afford a burger then he has to dig up some worms for dinner. Learn from those tough times because nobody said life was easy anyways. Every victory leaves a battle scar, and that’s what makes you a winner. SO I’m sorry I can’t give a better example like a noble lion or badass unicorn, and I must say: Be a weed.
