heykarry
Posts: 4
Joined: 11/1/2012
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Every entrepreneur starts a new business with high hopes and every one of them wants exactly the same thing. They want a successful business. Let’s face it, that’s a vague goal. They really don’t want the four hour work week. They want a new business they enjoy so work doesn’t seem like work, and one that allows them to have their perfect lifestyle.
Deep down, few entrepreneurs start by thinking they will become the next Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg. No one starts a new business with the desire for the business to be marginal, or for them to slave away at the business 80 hours per week, only to scrape by with enough to pay their bills. They don’t want to just survive and exist; they want to flourish and thrive. Yet, most entrepreneurs end up just surviving.
Where do they go wrong?
Strike One …
First, they neglect the business of the product initially and focus on product development. They think they’ll figure out the business aspects later. They justify this by telling themselves they need the product first and the product prototype is a must – no, it’s not. The truth is they don’t want to be the person ‘out there’, they don’t want to be the person connecting with the potential customers and partners, and they don’t want to be in the public eye. The business of the product is foreign to them, it’s outside their comfort zone, and so they are hoping that they’ll find those people who can handle it for them. The catch-22 is that unless they get out and about, they will never find these people.
Strike Two …
Second, they become immersed in the detailed and tangible work so much that there isn’t anyone guiding the company or planning the overall strategy. The ship is adrift! It’s easy to find people to do the mechanics like writing a sales letter, coding the software, entering the drawing into a CAD system, or creating an ad. What you can’t easily find is someone who can see the big picture, tell those mechanics what to do, or someone who has so much passion for the product that it’s contagious. Typically, only the founder is that person.
Strike Three …
Third, many entrepreneurs should be on the do-it-yourself network. They try to do everything themselves. CEO does not start for Chief-Everything-Officer. They become overwhelmed with all the tasks, and nothing gets done well. They slave away at menial tasks. They don’t ask themselves is this really the best use of their time. Entrepreneurs need to be able to hire, manage, and fire workers.
The only way to achieve their initial hope of a successful business and lifestyle dream is to realize that they need to work themselves out of a job. They need to create and build a new business that can run without them. That takes on a life of its own. Bill Gates left Microsoft and the company continues on. If Mark Zuckerberg left Facebook, it too would continue. Many entrepreneurs stop building their companies too soon, they want to feel as if they are critically important.
…. and They’re Out
It’s very easy to lose sight of a dream and vision by generating a heavy fog caused by a to-do list, which is nothing more than a list of tasks that need to be done soon. Since the to-do’s are immediate, the future gets put off. Entrepreneurs should ask themselves everyday whether what they are doing today is moving them closer to their vision.
In the words of Shakespeare, “I wasted time, and now time doth waste me”.
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The 3 Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Immediately - 
