Creating and operating a new business can be an extreme challenge. There are so many details to worry about, so many things that can go wrong, so many unknowns and variables in every niche market . . .
It is a daunting task to undertake such an unnerving challenge. New businesses require huge amounts of time, owner effort, and uncommon commitment. Some don't even begin to pay a return on the initial investment for many years . . . and others never do provide a return.
The media is anxious to jump on a succeeding business owner. It's a great story that we all like to see because it validates our dream that we too can someday create and operate our own business that will make us rich!
Many businesses are started each year - about the same number that fail. Most new startups are marginally successful but end up being abandoned because they are more work and hassle than they're worth, in the owner's eyes!
I have often wondered why so many businesses fail. And of those that do remain, why are so many not real successful? Why do so many small business owners end up making a small wage in their business rather than the nice profits that are realized by a very precious few?
I think the answer lies in the fact that being an innovator, one who is willing to step outside the norm and go after the "big prize" is a very uncomfortable thing. Entrepreneurs have a human side. They sometimes view their role in their own business as one of "acting like a business owner."
Business owners are realists, they're hard workers. They are persistent, roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done type personalities. They don't have time to dream, or innovate, or question what has been working in similar businesses.
I think it is this very acceptance of the stereotypical business owner role that keeps otherwise bright and smart people from stepping up to the next level to become wildly profitable.
Going out on a limb and questioning what has been "working" (even if it hasn't been working all that great) is a difficult challenge for a business owner. Attempting to see uncommon solutions by rejecting the status quo and steering the ship into uncharted waters is a scary and unsettling exercise. I think it is this hesitancy to leave what is comfortable that holds many business owners down and prevents them from taking their small business to the next level.
Surely the fear of losing something that we now have in our possession (a business, or a job, even if it isn't all we want it to be) is greater than the urge we might feel to let go of our prize and go after an even greater treasure.
Our traditional values and learning tell us to "be satisfied with what we have," don't gamble away our savings, "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush," and on and on . . .
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