Introduction

There is a saying "You can't get rich working for somebody else!" and its true, albeit money is not the comprehensive definition of rich in my opinion. Money is a big part of it for sure... but the knowledge that you and you alone hold the reigns to your life, whether you are met with success or with failure, is a feeling so exhilarating, so freeing, that I am compelled to share it with everyone I can. I will never settle for working for someone else for the rest of my days. Even if I was forced to, it would be a mere temporary sidetrack while I set about plotting my escape on the first day.

Me… I’ve started many businesses over the years. The first 4 failed miserably. The 5th is a resounding success. The 6th failed. The 7th-9th have succeeded, and I’m confident in my practice of entrepreneurship to say the 10th business, now in its infancy, will succeed as well. So here I will share the lessons I've learned.

I’m no writer so I thought I’d present this article as a series of quotes and maxims from others more eloquent than myself, and my thoughts on them based on my experience. So, I invite you to take what you can from what I’ve learned and use it as you see fit… let's begin.

Ambition and Hard Work Isn't Enough, You Must Provide Value

“Do something extraordinary ordinarily well, or something ordinary extraordinarily well” - as far as I know, these are my own words.

I apply this maxim to all my prospective business pursuits. If you are able objectively look at your idea and it honestly falls into either option you will succeed.

So what does it really mean? Basically, you have two options: You must be the first to market with a novel idea and simply be able to realize that idea effectively; You must bring a well-worn idea to a saturated market and execute on that idea better than the competition. Both approaches take their own sets of skills to apply, and only you can determine the path to take.

It is often more attainable to do the former rather than latter approach. As Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO Berkshire Hathaway has said “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars - I look for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” Mediocre execution of a novel idea is far easier than perfection of an idea that the masses have already brought to market. In fact if you are creating the market with a novel you should idea never seek perfection when bringing it to market… just get the idea to market effectively.

If your idea is met with success competitors will always follow with their own twist on it… save your extraordinary execution of your extraordinary idea for when your idea isn’t so extraordinary any longer… then you’ve applied the second path to the first.

“When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.” - Josh James

When you have that idea, whether novel in and of itself or novel in the execution of it, write it down and let it simmer. Let the idea grow in your mind and don’t be afraid to scrutinize and tear it apart. The great ideas will refuse to be shaken and burn into your brain.

“Do what you love and the money will follow”

This is horrible advice in my opinion, but not because it is incorrect per se. I see people all the time starting businesses based on what they love doing without ever taking an honest and objective look at if it has a viable means of turning a profit. If there is no real market for it you will fail.

The same applies to content here on Steemit. It matters little how knowledgeable and passionate you are regarding the breeding of prizewinning clams… chances are few others are (or I could be wrong? Rare clams could be the next beanie baby). This behavior is pervasive in western society and can be seen in the pursuit of degrees that offer no viable career path, inordinate investments of time, money, and effort into worthless pursuits, etc.

Yes, it does help if you love the work you do, but many successful entrepreneurs do not… or they didn’t start that way. I believe the true entrepreneur loves the journey and the feeling of success… the market of the organization becomes of little import.

A true entrepreneur can come to love whatever business pursuit they find success in. In contrast to a true entrepreneur, a maxim like this has led countless people to chase what they love right down the drain until every resource in their possession is expended trying to keep a failed pursuit alive.

If I could salvage this maxim it might go something like this: “Do what there is a market for. The money will follow, and you will grow to love it”

“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” - Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.

Being the first to execute a novel concept or idea is the path of least resistance and greatest success. Don’t work towards perfection… there will be time for that after you’ve created the market. The concept of planned obsolescence based on this. “Room for improvement” is a good thing, not a failure.

Conclusion

I hope this article can help stimulate new ideas, polish existing ones, or revive those you’ve dismissed or relegated prematurely.

If there is a market for my content, then I’ll continue on with further in this series. I’d truly appreciate comments and criticism, suggestions and requests, or whatever you’d like to say. I’ll tailor my content based on your collective wants & needs.

My cursory ideas for subject matter in this series include (in no particular order):

• Defining What Success Really Is (it’s not necessarily the bottom line)
• Project Planning & Management
• Capital and Resources
• How to make the business run itself
• How to Inspire and Motivate your Workforce or: How to be a Boss Boss
• So you’ve stood up a successful business. Now what?
• The business is failing... what do I do?