Surfing the Wave of Entrepreneurialism

Start-up ventures and surfing have a lot in common. Surfing, whether it’s in Orange County, California, or elsewhere, is about catching waves and riding them, and relying on timing, expertise, intuition and quick instincts. Entrepreneurialism is about spotting opportunities and exploiting them. It’s about riding trends, developing skills, employing intuition and adapting rapidly to a changing environment.

Traveling Fast and Light

The theory is simple. To catch a wave, you have to travel fast and light. Of course, some degree of physics is involved, but mostly you need to be in shape, passionate, and have impeccable timing. When you stand up, you need to be fast. Entrepreneurialism parallels the principles of successful surfing: You must be flexible, follow your instincts and be able to pivot and adjust continuously. Other key characteristics include the following:

• Finding your inner voice. The dreams that fuel your passions come from your inner satisfaction. If you are passionate about what you do, your drive to succeed comes naturally.
• Dreaming big. Don’t dream incrementally. Playing it safe may work in some situations, but realizing big dreams can stretch your mindset to a higher level, help you identify obstacles and give you the resolve to move into action.
• Thinking differently. Quick results enable the delivery of breakthrough performance. They also reduce risks and change your view of success from an all-or-nothing mindset.

Surfboard companies design boards to be fast, stable and scalable. Similar to choosing the ideal surfboard to ride the perfect wave, you can create a small business venture to deliver the results you desire based on the same principles.

Taking Action

Ultimately, entrepreneurship and surfing both involve taking action. In entrepreneurialism, most people start out small. Few start on the big waves unless they have access to easy capital. That doesn’t mean their dreams and ambitions aren’t huge. It simply means they take their vision and ride on the huge waves of innovation as soon as they spot them.