On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister did what many believed was impossible. He broke the 4 minute mile.
How does this relate to starting and building a business? Part of the answer is in one of his quotes: “A man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.” Paraphrased: the business owner who can drive further when it’ s most difficult (even painful) is the business owner who will succeed.
We see far too many new business owners start with unbridled excitement and enthusiasm. You have a sure fire winner in your business idea. You can’t lose; people will want to buy from you, do business with you. Why not, you ask, we have a great product / service.
Then reality hits. You need to market; you need to get past what at times seems to be a tsunami of no’s; you need to work what seems to be ridiculous hours (and to quote Dr. Seuss initially “for that piffulous pay of two Dooklas a day”); you need to overcome the doubters who watch from the wings and revel in “I told you so”. No, it’s not easy to start and run a successful business and especially if you lack the conviction and courage that ultimately drives success
Building a business on your own is challenging. As you hit what we call the “pain points” (also referred to as inflection points in business growth) you are essentially on your own to work through the challenges, overcome the doubts and manage the risks. (This is one of the reasons we recommend partnering when forming a business.)
Successful business owners are like elite athletes. They train; they set goals; they practice through consistent demonstration and they seek assistance and support (coaching) to help them improve and achieve their goals. They have learned to work beyond the pain.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
