Entrepreneurship doesn’t really care much if you are from Rich Dad, or a college drop-out or a salaryman. Entrepreneurship isn’t a ride you could be all prepared for in advance. In all honesty, it is going to pull at every strand of strength you have and push every trigger you didn’t know existed in you. Yet, it could very well be the ride of a lifetime. One which will load up a lot of stories to tell.
Some believe entrepreneurship is a compulsion and hardly ever a choice. Others look at it as a break from ‘performing a life’ and diving into ‘living one’. No matter which way the means or meaning points for you, in my experience, Day Zero is a big deal. And some reminders of what you have signed up for are worth it. Before you buy the ticket and queue up for the ride, knowing very well that 9 out of 10 usually don’t manage to stick through all of it, why not get a glimpse?
1. Building a business will build you. The world is going to reflect and respond to you, directly and indirectly. Critically evaluate what you could personally and individually own up. Your title means nothing. You are entitled to nothing.
2. Your probability of success is proportional to the average of you and your tribe, in all the measures which matter in the trade your choosing. Choose wisely. Your people and the trade, both.
3. Staying on the ride is the real flex. Everything else is symbolic and symptomatic of this power source. There is always an Exit door. How pretty is that door is to you would only be up to you.
4. Business is emotionless. Brand compliments this awkwardness with emotions. Representing your brand culture is how you could stay honest and get to the point. Start-up with a brand.
5. Being a leader is just a hypothesis. Becoming a leader is the real test. Be ready to be put on the spot, often daily. Don’t waste time hiding behind theories and proxies. You do you and figure it out.
6. Believe in something. You’ll never get to know all about anything, or everything. Get comfortable with complexity. Never mind the imposter syndrome or whatever name they call it. Trying to justify much is pointless until it is done, whatever it is that you believe in.
7. Change is never permanent. And, change is contextual. Pursuing permanent change will take everything, particularly a vision for generations. If that’s too long for your interest to linger, run for Exit. Always look deeper, broader for the context of change. Brands nest on context. Riding waves of change is called trading.
8. If Change and Context both are elephants in the room, leave the room. Better get some fresh air.
If the above reminders sound promising to you, probably you already know what I am about to propose next about Day Zero.
DAY ZERO STARTS THE DAY YOU GET ITCHY FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNDER THE SKIN.
The intention is most powerful. Even more than behavior. Behaviors can change, adapt. Intentions, almost never. Your clock starts the moment you find awareness of your intention. For context, many entrepreneurs admit their Day Zero lasted for decades. And that is what made a difference. Good strategy!
Yes, luck matters. Maybe a lot more than preparation even, to make anything meaningful of your decision to start on the entrepreneurship journey. But here’s the thing - you’ll find yourself restless enough to not leave a lot to luck. But you would still remember to say your prayers before rolling the dice each time. It is important to separate action from restlessness. Getting busy ‘doing’ anything and everything is wasteful without developing a sense of timing. Trust me, there will be so much of ‘do this’, ‘do that’, ‘you can do it’ chasing you every minute. Don’t let it drain you. Don’t let it drain your tribe. Try to pace yourself. No resource worth a dime is infinite. Not even your youth or will power.
Put a plan together. Try to follow it. Redraw it if necessary. What you could do to ruin your chances is looking around for what is working for others and try to copy it. Entrepreneurship is not a race. Being a salaryman was. You left that rat race behind for something else. Don’t allow it to become another rat race on a different lane. If you can’t stay true to what you desired to build when you took this bold step, pivot, but build something which could generate you a heap of money.
Making a heaps of money isn’t the point of entrepreneurship always or for everyone. A lifestyle is. A new set of values is. A wonderful sense of freedom is. An insatiable appetite for learning and creativity is. Transformation is, as I said earlier - building a business will build you.
Scale is the new average. Growth is the new cocaine. Neither of them are responsible for a better world as it was defined, and we could simply look around and tell. Perhaps why the RESET conversation is growing towards Impact as a measure of success, and the role of business in society. Sustainability, Social Equity and Inclusion, Community Engagement, Climate Change Accountability - these are more than just buzzwords of this decade. Scale and Growth could be extremely relevant if you could define it for yourself than join the rat race of running definitions.
Back to the point of the average - booming excel sheets with business plans and projections. In my close quarters with some growth & scale chasers, I haven’t found much personal growth or dignity. So my learning is to make sure there is a purpose you are consciously pointing the growth and scale rush towards. Else, get ready to feel dizzy. Like one of the Founders I met recently, on a year end party admitted, “If I could, I would just take a long vacation from all of this”. Growth is enchanting even when it isn’t clear where it came from. It is easy to own it up. When growth gets harder it is quite a different story. Leading up to a purpose does good. Keeps your eyes on what you are building using growth and scale.
Grow a purpose. Position your ride for Transformation. Both within and without.
Transformation towards sustainability is reshaping the business landscape, impacting geopolitical ties and even turning consumption trends on their head. Look at some businesses driven to bankruptcy due to transformation pressures: Sears, J. C. Penny, Toys “R” Us, Hertz.
Are you aware of any Circular Economy focused start-ups in your area which are replacing the “take-make-dispose” in their category?
Do you know about the “No Buy 2025” movement?
Did you notice a rise of energy-efficiency pitches in home appliances?
Are you able to find more local seasonal products on the shelves?
In the next post, I will share some exciting examples from our hood under each of the above trends.
Sign up for the next of “MAKE YOUR DAY ZERO COUNT” conversation and enjoy other topics from contributors from our PERSPECTIVE.
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