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GO IT ALONE!

In Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start--and Run--Your Own Successful Business, Fred Deluca, the cofounder of Subway, writes with John Hayes. He similarly describes an action-oriented operating philosophy as central to the success of Subway. In a chapter, titled “Ready, Fire, Aim” he notes,

". . . I prefer the philosophy of: Ready, Fire, Aim . . . especially when you’re starting small. If you make a mistake, if you guess wrong, if your aim is off, you can fix it, and fire again, and adjust again, and again as needed.
We used the Ready, Fire, Aim philosophy to start and grow Subway. When you’re just getting started it’s sometimes necessary to make a quick decision, take a shot, and then make course corrections as necessary. If you’re willing to fire before you aim perfectly, you probably won’t hit your target precisely, but you’ll have taken that first step in the journey . . ."

AFFIRM YOUR DETERMINATION—MAKE A COMMITMENT TO FIND A WAY

We will either find a way or make one.

—Hannibal

The one word that best characterizes successful entrepreneurs is determination. The act of creation from nothing is never easy. Nonetheless, the will to make something happen is an essential quality for a go-it-alone entrepreneur.

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