That Abrupt Growth Spurt You're Experiencing Is Entrepreneurial Puberty The single most significant reason a business succeeds is that an entrepreneur worked at long enough.
By Daniel DiPiazza Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There's no singular secret to success.
But there are inflection points.
One thing that always perplexed me about business (especially in the online world) was how it seemed like some people just EXPLODED on the scene.
They went from 0-100 real quick. Literally everything they did online seemed to work, like immediately. From an outside perspective, it seemed like they were riding a perpetual growth curve.
Me, on the other hand? I was just writing away in my dark room, getting precisely zero readers every single day for years.
Then, a few of my pieces got traction.
It wasn't because of any specific plan, to be honest. It was just the result of repeatedly swinging the ax at the same tree over and over.
But there IS a catch here…
Related: Discomfort Is What You Feel When You're Growing
The moment you hit entrepreneurial puberty.
Assuming you're doing the right things (working on projects you care about, being meticulous about getting the word out, constantly improving the quality of your work)...you will eventually hit an "inflection point."
It's kind of like puberty -- spontaneous, unavoidable, usually uneven growth that can change everything literally overnight.
The infection point could come from an article, video or podcast that goes viral.
It could come from an influencer who discovers your idea/product/service and tells their audience.
It could come because of a discovery you make which introduces something entirely new to the world.
It's often an accident.
It's often the result of something you didn't think was a big deal at the time.
Related: 5 Risks Every Entrepreneur Will Need to Take
But your inflection point WILL occur with enough time in the game. You WILL break through. It's just a rule of the Universe. Everyone gets this opportunity. When that happens, BE READY and RECOGNIZE the opportunity for what it is. The inflection point is your opportunity to take control of your trajectory and make sure that your message gets out there.
If you aren't prepared to have the attention of the whole world on you, then when you get it for 15 minutes, you'll squander it! Don't risk losing the momentum. Pounce on it relentlessly.
There are two amazing things about inflection points:
First, if you capitalize on them, your business (and your life) will never be the same. Second, inflection points can result in quantum leaps for your goals. In many cases, this is the closest you can really get to "overnight success".
You guys know that consistency is the key. But what you might think is that consistency with your ideas will only bring slow, linear growth.
Related: Entrepreneurs Don't Have to Be Fearless, Just Brave
The reason I preach consistency so hard is because if you practice it for long enough, you'll not just experience the standard linear growth -- but also the exponential, crazy "overnight" growth of inflection points if you stick around long enough.
Something to think about here: you need both LUCK (inflection points) and HARD WORK (consistency) to reach real success.
You MUST have both -- no matter what order they arrive in.
If you get lucky early on in the game and blow up, you're going to need to work VERY hard to maintain that momentum. Otherwise you'll see a quick spike and nothing more.
And even if you're the world's hardest worker, you have to be savvy enough to recognize the inflection points when the come along...otherwise all the hard work will be for nothing.
Above all, I want you to know something, my friends -- IT IS POSSIBLE.
Success isn't just for the chosen few. It's for EVERYONE.
If you're reading this...success is for YOU.
