Women's Leadership Blog

Entrepreneurship: Do you have the spirit?

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Last month, we posted about a Meet-the-Author event for a new book called Girl on Top. The author, Nicole Williams, has shared with us an excerpt from her book, which we thought will resonate with many of you:

Entrepreneurship: Do you have the spirit?

To go it alone or not to go it alone? That is the question. Actually the real question is: Are entrepreneurs born or made? This one has been making the rounds for years and there are no definitive answers. I grew up with a dad who's an entrepreneur so I'm not entirely sure what I was born with and what trickled down from watching him bust his ass, but I'm going to guess there's more born than made. If you're not born (or able to grow or learn into) what I'm talking about below, you're asking for trouble.

Rules are written for other people: I was speaking at a television industry conference and before everyone was let into the room, I listened to a guy tell us how hard it is to sell a TV show, "the chances are one in a million". After sharing my story of selling 13 episodes of a show concept upon first pitch, the guy came up to me and asked how it happened. I didn't say it aloud, but in my mind I'm thinking...because I'm not you...or the 999,999 others out pitching their show.

It's sound egotistical (and maybe it is) but to be an entrepreneur you need to believe that the odds, the statistics and the rules don't apply to you. Nine out of ten start-up businesses fail in the first five years. You'd be screwed walking into this reality and not believe you'll be the one who will defy the odds. This rules-are-for-others concept is also essential from the perspective of looking for new ways of doing things. The name of the game is innovation and some of the best businesses have been built around taking a tried-and-true idea or rule and turning it on its ass. Rules are not for you.

Fearlessness: Leaving the comfort of the warm, comfortable cocoon of the ‘man' is not for the faint of heart. As I actually think and write about it here, it's not that as an entrepreneur you don't feel fear - you do - but you become not only immune to it, you learn to actually feed off it. If your idea of being out on the limb is ordering pork rather than chicken, you're in for a rude awakening. To put your name, money, reputation on the line is big, fat, exhilarating deal. You're going to be scared and the question you need to ask yourself is, Can you handle it? I've met a lot of failed business owners and more often than not, they become paralyzed and can't think straight in the face of the fear.

A refusal to lose: I'm not just saying this for the sake of bravado and it's not that I don't question myself, threaten that I'm leaving, or want to give up, but at the end of the day I know I will not let myself lose. And to me that looks like walking away. There's a certain kind of stubbornness that comes with entrepreneurship. On the outside it looks like you're crazy to be holding on for dear life, and not giving up at the point at which any other sane, rational person would have walked. As an entrepreneur you have to be willing to fail (you're going to make mistakes) but you can't let yourself lose - huge difference. One of my very favorite business books is called Many Miles to Go by Brian Tracy. His message is one of perseverance and dedication and I use it as a constant reminder that the greater your vision, the longer it will take to build.