The second risk-reducing tactic is also evident in the founding of Niveus Media. More often than not, businesses don’t succeed as rapidly as the founders anticipate. Indeed, the history of new businesses is filled with stories of companies of now-legendary success that were close to closing their doors because sales materialized far slower than anticipated. By testing business concepts at night and on weekends, go-it-alone entrepreneurs can significantly enhance their ultimate chances of success.
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that there is no such thing as a sure thing, so they work to reduce the possibility of failure before they launch their companies and to give themselves plenty of time to build the business. One business founder describes this operating philosophy succinctly: “You never know what problems you may encounter until you actually try. And some of these problems may be deal-breakers. You need to find a low-cost way to get out there and see what works.”
NEVER GET TOO FAR AHEAD OF YOUR CUSTOMERS
Some in the business community are obsessed with the idea that successful new businesses are inherently revolutionary. This false conception can cripple a start-up.
Why is this belief so strong? We tend to look at the greatest entrepreneurs—after they have worked for years to succeed— and focus on the net result of their efforts. A successful start-up may reinvent a business—but not overnight. We look at a busi-ness’s total accomplishments and see only the revolution it created. We don’t recognize how the company may have slowly nurtured change among its customers over many years. Moreover, companies that revolutionize industries are, by their nature, the most likely to receive attention in the press. They are interesting and newsworthy. But the skewed volume of coverage devoted to these firms contributes to the myth that these dramatic innovators are the rule and not the exception.
Search the complete text of Go It Alone!
Terms of Use
GO IT ALONE! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Judson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
|
