An Open Letter to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Trust me, I know where you’re at. You’ve been sick and tired of doing something you don’t enjoy and you know that you have a greater purpose. Whatever your passion is, it’s calling you in. You envision what it will feel like when you achieve some of your goals and buy your dream car that you’ve always wanted. Not just that but the woman of your dreams and the “life” that you aspire to have one day is so real in your dreams, that you almost think its reality. Then you wake up.

The reality is that this world is a cold place and will give you absolutely nothing unless you work for it. Are you prepared to be tired and still put out maximum effort anyways? That’s what it takes to run a successful growing business. Unfortunately, some of the influencers that you follow on social media will only show you the end result of years of hard work. They don’t actually show you the nitty gritty of the blood, sweat, tears, setbacks, punches in the face that come along with that success. So, if you just started your business, be mentally prepared right now to know that this will be one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. 

Having said that, keep in mind, the 2% that win are the men and women that get up every day and perform at their best regardless of the circumstances at hand. These 2% of winners in the world know that winning is a skill and that if they don’t exercise daily winning habits, they’ll stop winning. There is no magic, successful people don’t just have some mysterious potion of success at their grasp. It’s just a fact, that putting your head down every day and pushing the needle forward, is exactly what you need to do. Not some of the time, or once in a while. I mean every single day having intentional effort and getting things accomplished. 

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

When I was 22 years old, fresh out of college and eager to make something of myself, I took an opportunity to become a sales manager of a failing company with great raw potential. I understood that If I were to achieve success, I was going to have to learn and have humility. I learned as much as I could, taking mentors of mine out to dinner, asking tons of loaded questions and striving to gain as much wisdom in my field as possible. I had extreme anxiety at first to be honest with you. As time went on, I gained speed and was inspired each time I came away with a small win. I started to believe in myself. 

Self confidence is likely the most important quality one can have to endure during tough times early on in your business. Without it, you may find yourself wondering why you don’t seem to be getting closer to accomplishing your goals. If I had a gift to give my future children, it would be self confidence. This is believing in yourself even when nobody else does. Betting on yourself to overcome adversity and the challenges that awaits. This is something that I know acquire very much so because of experience and time. It was a gradual process but over time I understood my value. I understood what my strengths and weaknesses are.

New business owner, yeah I’m talking to you. Do this for me and it will change your life. Figure out what you are good at and naturally gifted with. God gives everyone natural skills and ability based upon his choosing. It’s up to us to figure out what those natural gifts are. Try new things, learn and make sure you figure this out quickly, time is of the essence. Once you do, work and perfect those skills to the very best of your ability. Try to become so effective in that gift that you are within the top 5 – 10% of people that do that. This ensures that you can provide the most value possible. The higher you go with these trainable skills, the more people will seek out your service and pay you more for it too.

“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson

My particular gifts or skills are sales, communication and creativity. I know these things to be true in my life so I focus most of my time developing these areas of my life to blossom into powerful assets that I always carry with me. Wondering how that situation panned out with that failing company I attempted to turn around? Within 2 ½ years we went from 1 – 6.5 million in annual sales and we are up over 40% YTD in sales this year. I believed in myself, put my head down and created relationships and values that really make a difference. My weak points are substituted by some of the best people that I could’ve ever asked for. 

It’s going to be hard but it will be worth it. Don’t give up on your dream. You have only shot at this life, please don’t be that older retired man or woman that regrets not taking that “chance”. You’d feel better in that moment if you at least tried and failed as opposed to not trying at all.