1. They told me, “you should go back to school because the economy is bad right now!”
2. They told me, “you better not quit that good job you might not find another one.”
3. They told me, “dont you realize most businesses fail within the first five years?”
4. They told me, “you should wait until you have enough money saved up and rebuild your credit.”
5. They told me, “you should open up a storefront because no one is going to buy stuff from the trunk of your car.”
6. They told me, “you should work for a business first, learn how they do it and then open up your own store.”
7. They told me, “you need to write a business plan first and then apply for a government loan/grant”
8. They told me, “you should keep your job and just run your businesses on the weekends.”
9. They told me, “if I were you, I would not quit my job because your business may not workout.”
10. They told me, “you should find a mentor and some investors, you are going to need at least $100,000 to start your business.”
Im glad I never listened! Most of the people who told me these things were not entrepreneurs, but rather employees who somehow seemed to know everything about being an entrepreneur.
Truthfully, you will likely never have the perfect conditions to start your own business, so you must stop wasting time and just go out and do it! Give yourself 3 to 6 months to learn what you need to know and then learn as you go. Dont get stuck in analysis paralysis. I know you may feel that if you could just read one more book or attend one more seminar you will be ready. Forget that, its time to jump off the cliff of certainty and grow your wings on the way down!
More than likely, youve already read enough books and know everything there is to know about becoming an entrepreneur. So please do yourself a favor and stop looking in the bookstore, on the Internet, and self-help/business sections. There is one final place that you somehow refuse to look – that place is inside yourself.
What if you fail? Great! Now, you will actually start developing what I call “entrepreneur endurance,” or in other words perseverance, which is the number one skill an entrepreneur must develop. So fail and get it over with, because failure just moves you closer to success. See you at the top, Grind for Greatness!
“The Michael Jordan of Motivation,” James “Bird” Guess is the President & Founder of JBG International Success Academy, a personal and organizational development company that trains and develops working professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and organizations to achieve their greatest potential. He is also a world-renowned speaker on change, leadership, and entrepreneurship, as well as the best selling author of the book How I Made A Quarter Million Dollar$ From the Trunk of My Car. the Trunk of My Car.
To learn more about James please visit http://www.JamesBirdGuess.com or contact James atspeak@jamesbirdguess.com
