Oh me? I’m An Entremanure!
Visits with my father-in-law this past week kept me from writing in my normal fashion. I assure all out there reading, that while the posts are coming disjointedly, I am reading each day and gleaning whatever I can…as if you care!
Chapter 10 (am I really only on 10??) was about Business. *Dramatic Eye Roll* I was hoping that when I picked up this book off the bargain rack, with no research or previous understanding of the author, that this book would be more about using self-discipline to be a well-rounded human being. What this book does is helps you become a well-rounded employee/businessman/ salesman/boss. What can I expect for an $8 self-help book? Oh well, diving into business…
In first reading this chapter, I asked myself, “Do I want to own my own business?”. That’s what we’re taught is a great, respectable goal to have. Tons of people start businesses, and even more fail. Is being a writer and marketing/branding consultant the same as owning your own business? I don’t have any invention, I’m not trying to solve an outstanding problem; so why would I start a business? Unable to answer that question, I went on feeling as though I was reading a textbook written for a mediocre sales training.
“Own your own business!” is the siren call to all people who are dissatisfied with life as they know it or people who want to earn a great living fast. Obviously this isn’t easy, it’s never easy.
If anything, this chapter served as a cautionary tale to anyone looking to start, or who eventually wants to start, a business of their very own. Brian Tracy pulls no punches in telling the reader that it takes you that much more work to get half as far if you are a business owner. I agree with him when he says that only the most talented people end up starting successful businesses, but it only takes overwhelming personal sacrifice and discipline to maintain the success. One thing I learned from a friend in business school is: you want to start a business, well what problem are you going to solve?
If what you want to make money off of doesn’t help solve a consumer problem, or doesn’t in some way convince the consumer that their life will be better, how do you expect to make money??
The short answer is, you won’t. Brian Tracy takes ten pages to ask and thus answer that simple question by bringing up things like know your customer, learn about your competition, don’t assume that you have all the answers. “Errant assumptions lie at the root of every failure,” which Tracy quotes Peter Drucker as saying, but I’ve seen it attributed to Alex McKenzie in The Time Trap…but who’s counting score? Moral of the story — know your shit and be discipline to execute.
You can’t course correct on a dime when money, time, and effort (all of it yours) is on the line and while you’re working 70–80 hours per week. Brian tells us that you need to know what it costs. It’ll take you two years to break even, two years to pay back what you borrowed in the first place, then another three years for success. Oh, and by the way it’ll cost twice as much and take three times as long to get things done. And let’s not talk about that as much as 90% of what you try will be wrong. #Exhausting
Given that I questioned my own interest in “starting a business”, I took a few breathers through this very short, and very superficial chapter. Brian’s whole idea here of connecting with “entrepreneurs” (meanwhile he never used that word once!) was to just tell them to be prepared, but not as a coach, but definitely as a menacing Scar-type character. I wonder who his hyenas are…
I’ve committed to this book, and I need to learn what I can, and I’ve learned that starting a business isn’t it. Unless being an author is. If people were taught that while business ownership is awesome, it’s not for everyone! One day, I’d like to help people in areas that I’m good at, rather than try to create my own entity using 20th century business model techniques. Today, everyone “can be their own boss” as a realtor, selling insurance, or falling for a pyramid scheme. It’s almost like diploma dilution — eventually, if we all owned our own businesses, who would we sell to? Yup, I’m gonna stick to advising people about things I know.
I picked up Brian Tracy’s No Excuses, and have decided to learn something about self-discipline. This page is going to keep me honest (mostly) as I tackle this book over the next 21 days! This is Day 9 of 21.
