Better Odds

If you’re a first time entrepreneur, the outlook is not so good. Question is...How do you get better odds...Read below... According to the Harvard researchers, there is performance persistence in entrepreneurship. They write, “All else equal, a venture-capital-backed entrepreneur who succeeds in a venture (by our definition, starts a company that goes public) has a 30% chance of succeeding in his next venture. By contrast, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18% chance of succeeding and entrepreneurs who previously failed have a 20% chance of succeeding.” Millions are falling victims to the false gurus out there pitching all sorts of easy button solutions. Promising easy money for things like stuffing envelopes, vending and ATM routes, completing surveys and all sorts of work from home opportunities. Linda Walker, a small business coach from Montreal, specializes in helping entrepreneurs stay focused and on target. She also specializes in consulting entrepreneurs who struggle with ADD and ADHD. She says, “Entrepreneurs face challenges from many sources… external threats may come from competitors, from the bank that turns you down for financing or the government agency that refuses your license application. Internal challenges are far more deadly to your success.” These 10 challenges come up with my clients again and again. They aren’t in order of importance, but ask any entrepreneur to list his or her most vexing challenges and I’ll bet you’ll find them on this list. 1. Paperwork: You hate doing it. You hate organizing it. You’d love to throw it out, but you can’t decide what you can get rid of and what to keep. 2. Delegation: You can’t trust anyone to do it as well as you. You haven’t practiced your delegation skills, it’s no surprise when it doesn’t go well, justifying your reluctance. 3. Perfectionism: Your standards are so high no one can live up to them. Not even you. But perfectionism is motivated by fear. You can’t be judged if you never finish. 4. Forgetfulness: Poor working memory makes you forget what you’re supposed to do. You can remember facts, but appointments? Commitments? Forget it. 5. Impulsive Behavior: A person of action, you’d rather move than take time to think. But shooting first and asking questions later just leaves a lot of hole you have to fix. 6. Projects: The trouble with projects, planning them, managing them and finishing them starts early. The business plan stops many would-be entrepreneurs before they start. 7. Procrastination: With so many exciting things to do, boring but necessary tasks are the bane of every entrepreneur. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? Here’s a secret strategy that can stop procrastination in its tracks. 8. Getting Organized: You’re often inconsistent. Organized in some areas and disorganized in others, you can’t seem to transfer the same skills from one area to another. 9. Lack of Focus: You have so many brilliant ideas, each one “shinier” than the next, that your biggest challenge is to pick one and see it through from brainstorm to business. 10. Time Management: You are chronically late, overcommitted and still overpromising. You underestimate how long things will take and often scramble to catch up late into the night. Today, online universities are rolling out all kinds of entrepreneurial and internet marketing courses and programs (Google search: “how to become an entrepreneur” and see what you find!) But these are largely academic and hypothetical and they cost thousands and thousands of dollars. On top of that, you are learning from a professor who makes $85k a year, not an actual entrepreneur or business leader in the field who is actually successful doing the task. Where the heck do you start? CONCLUSION: Most entrepreneurs fail, and starting a traditional business is just too risky. SOLUTION: Business System Don’t start a business, find a proven business system that eliminates all of those pesky variables. SOLUTION: You need a mentor. Someone who already has the results you aspire to have who is willing to show you the ropes. A mentor could be a professional who advises entrepreneurs for a living or someone working in a related industry who is willing to help you. And unlike your friends, mentors are typically more removed from you and your business. So they tend to be more comfortable delivering bad or critical news and advice. And since many of them have either started up businesses in the past or have worked in industries that you’re trying to shake up, mentors can also fill experience gaps, as well as impart their wisdom on how to handle specific business challenges. Thus, entrepreneurs — especially young ones — tend to tap their friends for business advice. But that can be a mistake. The reason is, friends tell you what you want to hear instead of what you NEED to hear. So how do you find a successful entrepreneur who is also willing to give you the time of day? You could luck into one, or you could talk to someone in your exact same field, and ask them. You'll be shocked on how many true leaders will, in a heart-beat, help you out. After two years of trial and error, trying to create a networking lifestyle for myself, I finally realized that what was missing for me was a mentor. I had all of the pieces, but was lacking the perspective of an already successful individual to help me put them together. Once I found this person, I was able to do something in 3 months that I was previously unable to do on my own over 2 years. Ever since then, I have committed myself to mentoring others to success in networking. This has become my personal mission in life: To wake people up to the choices that every individual has so that they can create the life of their dreams. All you have to do is put your hand in the air and say, “I’m ready!” There has never been a better time to start looking for self-employment. PERIOD. This is your time. The entrepreneurial gold-rush is happening as we speak! You just need the right system and mentor! Fortunately, we have it all wrapped up in one. Just do it... b2