The Biggest obstacle is in the Mirror!

Allan Goldner

You are so stubborn!  Just hate to ask for directions. But now there’s GPS, so no one has to know. 

All entrepreneurs, whether in their first business experience or thoroughly established, have a unique strength. Yes, they have a passion for what they do. OK, they are really good at making widgets or selling thingamajigs. But their biggest strength is that they have an entrepreneurial spirit.  It’s in their blood, their character.  They’re independent thinkers who can dream and scheme.  They need to be the driving force, the boss.  They are so focused; they know no clock or weekend.  They wake up in the middle of the night or at dawn with the idea or plan that will set the world, country, state, town, community, industry, on notice.  They want, no, they need to be in business.  Building and growing and dominating the marketplace.  They crave the success associated with their creation. You are the business and the business is you!  You’re the creator and the mastermind, and, (brace yourself), the executioner of this new thriving baby, your business.

That’s right. I said executioner. Your biggest strength is also your greatest weakness.  Look in the mirror! Remember the first line about hating to ask for directions?  Yep.  The biggest weakness of the super achiever is that you don’t want to face yourself. Why, because you hate to ask for help.  You cringe at the mention of looking for guidance. You squirm when it comes to admitting that you don’t have the answer to satisfy the next piece of the puzzle.  The very thought of needing to ask for help, must surely mean that you are miscast as the boss. Are you an imposter, someone who was just lucky or fell into this scenario? OK, just relax.

A lot of us are better than others when it comes to looking for help.  Usually, after we’ve hit a few financial brick walls, or got drenched in some awfully large puddles of red ink, we glacially learn by our mistakes and even begin to think about reaching out for some outside advice.

Reflect on these two examples. You should be aware as a new business person, that every mistake you’re about to make, has already been made.  Overpaying for incorporation filing, choosing the wrong type of entity for your business, bad startup documents and agreements, poor site location, bad lease, overpaying to buy a business, you get the idea.  You might even have dealt with some of those headaches. Sometimes, a bad site lease for instance, can haunt you five and ten years into the future. (I know because I’ve been there and done that.) There is help available to avoid the potential pitfalls. 

Then, there’s the entrepreneur who’s up and running.  Money’s coming in, bills are getting paid, and maybe there’s even a little extra.  What could be better? Everything’s great, or is it?  Could it be possible that your business might be run more efficiently and with greater productivity? Are there services or menu items that could be added or removed, to increase profits and streamline your operations?  Are the advertising costs effective, and the results quantifiable?  Should you increase the budget or decrease it?  Are you holding your staff accountable? Is it time to grow?  How do you set forth the next phase of your business? 

Believe it or not, there are strong similarities and experiences that have been shared by countless others over the years, which are available to you and your business, and can remove the mystery from the above questions.  The outsider looking in might see things totally different. Just ask for help.  You only have to stop being so stubborn.  Only you and the person in the mirror will know.