It Takes More than Balls

He's Halfway There

A person's goals evolve as they progress from adolescence through the various stages of adulthood. Everyone, regardless of their station in life, aspires to be something greater than they are or to have more than they do. This is no secret, but it is a fact that drives those with an entrepreneurial mindset to take chances that most individuals might not.

The security of a weekly paycheck and health insurance is not enough to keep some of us from jumping into the fray. The unfortunate result is, for every Gates or Trump, there are thousands of nameless also-rans that litter the free-market landscape. Throw a rock or two in the local unemployment office and you’ll likely hit at least one. You might hit me.

As I am my own best reference, the following is chart to illustrate what my aspirations were, relative to the age I was when I had them.

My Age and My Aspiration

16	Driver’s license
18	Good Fake ID (or to be 21)
21	To make $25K a year
25	To be a good husband (and make $35K a year)
28	To be a good father (and start my own business)
31	For the business I started to be successful
36	For some kind-hearted soul to hire me (security)

Of course I had other goals, but this is to illustrate how my priorities changed over the years. I basically climbed Maslow's hierarchy of needs and fell off the other side. At one point, I was employed with a great job (VP, $92K annually, health, company car, 3 weeks vacay, etc.), the next I was running my very own ship (dinghy?), and the next I was liquidating the company assets and desperately trawling the job boards. Clearly, I made a lot of mistakes and, subsequently, I learned a ton of lessons. Lesson #1: To succeed on your own, it takes more than balls.

It also takes more than just a great idea and an investor who likes the looks of your pro formas (a quick note- if you like disappointment, as you put together your sales forecast, base it on the presumption that you will get 5% of your market in the first year. Everyone thinks that 5% is a cautious and realistic number and it rarely, if ever, is. Your banker will love your forecasts until you need to refinance his institution's investment after 9 months. More on this down the road.) To succeed on your own, you need a laundry list of quantifiable and qualifiable things. Since the goal with this blog is to teach you how best to fail as a business owner/leader, pursue alternatives to these future post topics if you want to succeed.

1. Got cash? Use it. Why deal with banks if you don't have to?
2. Franchise schmanchise -I'm not in it to make $$ for others
3. Doers do. Planning is for architects and engineers.
4. Marketing Rule #1 -Throw $$ at everything until its starts coming back
   
5. Price per square foot is the best retail space value indicator
6. "Long-term contracts are fine, because we're gonna make it!"
7. When the SBA doesn't pony up, Mastercard can.
8. I have great taste so lets merchandise what I like
9. "Who needs an accountant? I have Quickbooks!"
10. Changing direction in mid-stream has got to work (nothing else has)

The next post will be for those who truly want to start out on the wrong foot. Tentative title: I Spent a Whole Month Researching Our Plan, So Its Gotta Work.

If ya' question whether I'm a smart dummy or just a dumb dummy, I have posted my Exectutive Profile for the amusement of doubters, haters, and the like.