In the good old days (about 17 years ago), when entrepreneurs
were just starting to surface in our society, theories and opinions
abounded that, to be a successful entrepreneur, you had to be a
certain kind of person or a particular personality type.
Entrepreneurs, it was said, were risk-takers, ready to throw it all
away for a shot at the top. There were other "knowns," of
course. You weren't good at delegating, you hogged all the
glory, you were selfish. In short, you were basically a
dysfunctional, greedy, no-good bastard.
Then the entrepreneurial explosion hit (for a number of reasons
we won't get into here), and we learned-just as in life-that
while some entrepreneurs could indeed be bastardly, far more of you
were busy starting and growing businesses for your own reasons,
using your own ideas and strategies.
I've seen and heard a lot in my 21-plus years at
Entrepreneur. There's been a lot of talk about old-style
entrepreneurs (misfits and loners) and the newer, more inclusive
model (you know who you are). These characterizations are part
truth and part bull. One of the lessons I hope we've learned
over the years is there's no one way to entrepreneurial
success. It's important that every entrepreneur find the path
he or she is most comfortable with rather than blindly following
someone else's course because it was so successful for
them.
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That's not to say you should stay within your comfort
zone-in fact, to succeed, I think you frequently need to exit that
zone. However, it's far harder to thrive if you're trying
to do something that either makes you so uncomfortable it
immobilizes you, or is so "not you" it calls for a
complete and total personality transformation. You can certainly
learn new ways to do things, and you should. But it's also
important to try to tailor business ideas, management style and
growth strategies to your personal style.
Again, let's go back to the "good" old days.
Another popular theory was that entrepreneurs were born, not bred.
In other words, you couldn't learn to be a successful business
owner. Well, we all know that's not true. Entrepreneurship
can be taught—in fact, I think it's imperative
entrepreneurs continually seek new information. And it's never
too early, or too late, to start. Turn to "The Wonder
Years" on page 58, and find out how you can help jump-start
the process and provide your kids with a sound entrepreneurial
foundation.
I recently taped an appearance on Martha Stewart's show.
First, let me get this out of the way: Despite what many of us have
read or heard about her, Martha Stewart was just as gracious (and
funny) when the cameras weren't rolling as she was when they
were. Anyway, during the interview (I was on the show to talk about
starting a business), we were talking about business plans and how
important it was for all entrepreneurs to have one. And I said the
standard, "After all, you wouldn't go on a road trip
without a map." Martha, one of the world's most successful
entrepreneurs, quickly stated, "Well, I would." That
didn't surprise me. Martha Stewart is one of those
"born" entrepreneurs. My guess is (no evidence, just
conjecturing) "born" entrepreneurs are more likely
not to start with a business plan (even though I think even
they should have one). I believe they are also likely to have a
higher tolerance for risk. That doesn't make the borns better
than the breds—it just makes them different.
Entrepreneurs share a common dream: to succeed. There are many
paths to that goal, some easily traveled, others laden with
obstacles. Whichever you choose, go forward knowing that if you
have what Sir Walter Scott said is "the will to do, the soul
to dare," you will find success.